A dozen or so Americans are fighting with militant extremists in Syria, according to a top federal official.
James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told CBS on Sunday the agency knows of these dozen or so Americans, fighting in Syria with al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Comey, who made the comments in his first major TV interview since he took the job last September, said the FBI would be closely tracking and monitoring the Americans should they decide to return to the United States.
“Ultimately, an American citizen, unless their passport’s revoked, is entitled to come back. So, if someone who’s fought with [Islamic State], with an American passport, wants to come back, we will track them very carefully,” he told “60 Minutes.”
Comney called al-Nusra “experienced terrorists, experienced bombmakers, experienced killers” wanting to spread terrorism globally.
He described the Islamic State — the more well-known of the two extremist groups — as sophisticated, “maybe more than any of the others in its media presence in its recruiting and training efforts online.”
Citing 9/11 as a turning point in the intelligence community, Comey said the Islamic State threat is not as dangerous as when al Qaeda was at its peak.
“We are better organized as an intelligence community. We’re better organized and equipped at the border. We have relationships with our foreign partners. All of which make us better able to see dots and connect dots,” he said.
