Westerners who fight in Syria often disenfranchised, FBI says

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS

Douglas McAuthur McCain, an American killed in Syria while fighting with the Islamic State group, was part of a growing number of Americans and other foreigners recruited by terror groups to help them wage war in the Mideast.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Wednesday that McCain was fighting for ISIL in Syria in a conflict that now includes thousands of combatants from around 50 countries.

The U.S. also is trying to determine if a second American fighting with the ISIL has been killed in Syria.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the U.S. has no independent confirmation of reports of a second American killed while fighting with the militant group. “We’re looking into it,” she said.

Some questions and answers about Westerners traveling to join the battle in Syria:

WHO ARE THESE TRAVELERS?

FBI Director James Comey said in June that roughly 100 people had left the United States to join the conflict in Syria. His estimate came during a visit to Minnesota, where several young Somali-Americans had lived before traveling to Somalia in recent years to help expel Ethiopian troops seen as invaders. Comey said the new wave of travelers to Syria was not coming from any particular part of the United States.

WHAT is KNOWn ABOUT McCAIN?

He was born in the Chicago area and moved to Minnesota as a boy. Court records show McCain had some minor traffic offenses in Minnesota, including two instances in which he was convicted of giving police a false name or ID. An old friend, Isaac Chase, said McCain did not really know what he wanted to do with his life.

WHAT ARE AMERICAN AUTHORITIES DOING TO STOP THEM?

The U.S. is using “every tool we possess to disrupt and dissuade individuals from traveling abroad for violent jihad and to track and engage those who return,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

Minnesota authorities are trying to prevent radicalization by reaching out to local communities, building trust and working to identify young people at risk of recruitment.

WHAT MOTIVATES THEm?

Those who are lured to the fighting tend to be young men from 18 to 30 who are disenfranchised from society and withdrawn, Minneapolis FBI spokesman Kyle Loven said. They can include people who have been born into the Muslim faith and converts to Islam. McCain’s Twitter feed included a May 14 post that said he “reverted to Islam 10 years ago” and called it the best thing to happen to him.