An Islamic State fighter from Virginia was reportedly captured Monday by Kurdish forces attempting to flee Turkey.
According to multiple reports, Muhammed Jamal Amin, a American citizen from Virginia, was captured Monday by Kurdish military authorities.
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“We are aware of reports that a U.S. citizen that was allegedly fighting for Daesh has been captured by peshmerga forces in northern Iraq,” a U.S. State Department official told USA TODAY, using an alternative name for the terrorist group. “We are in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to determine the veracity of these reports.”
The man’s father is Palestinian and his mother from Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, which is currently controlled by the Islamic State.
Rudaw, the Kurdish news agency, reported Amin had mistaken the peshmerga territory for the Turkish border when he approached a checkpoint near the Iraqi town of Sinjar, which was recently recaptured from Islamic State fighters. The peshmerga fired upon Amin before detaining him, Rudaw reported.
CBS News, citing two Kurdish military sources, reported Amin was apparently trying to defect. The Associated Press was told by Peshmerga Maj. Gen. Feisal Helkani that Amin surrendered with a large amount of cash, three cellphones and three forms of identification.
Kurdish forces are supported by an American-led coalition in fighting the Islamic State, which controls much of the northern borders with Turkey.
