Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has begun to get names of the victims of the December 2, 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. This posting will be updated as new information on victims is released.
American Victims Killed in San Bernardino Terrorist Attack – December 2, 2015
Tin Nguyen
Tin Nguyen
Tin Nguyen – a 31 year old Vietnamese-born woman from Santa Ana who was a food inspector. She stopped by the Christmas party. She was planning to be married in 2017.
Larry Daniel Kaufman
Larry Daniel Kaufman
Larry Daniel Kaufman – a 42 year old man who ran the center’s coffee shop and trained the developmentally disabled clients who worked with him, and who proudly wore rainbow earrings for gay pride.
Nicholas Thalasinos
Nicholas Thalasinos
Nicholas Thalasinos – a 52 year old man restaurant inspector, who was a Messianic Jew. He was a scholar and religious. He was defiant to extremist views, including ISIS. He received a death threat the day before he was murdered, and reported had a heated debate with Syed Farook two weeks before the attack, as reported in another posting.
Juan Espinoza
Juan Espinoza
Juan Espinoza – a 50 year old man from Highland, who worked as an inspector for the county health department. Juan Espinoza is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son. Another report describes Juan C. Espinoza as the director of Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency.
Shannon Johnson
Shannon Johnson – a 45 year old man from Los Angeles, he worked as an environmental health specialist with San Bernardino County’s public health department for nearly 11 years, according to his LinkedIn page. Johnson said he was in charge of food safety, recreational health and housing.
Aurora Godoy – a 26 year old from San Jacinto. She was a wife and mother of an infant son. Her aunt, Rebecca Godoy made a statement on Facebook: “Yesterday in the shootings in San Bernardino many families were affected. Ours was one of them. We will keep her flame alive so that her young son does not forget his special mother.” Those who cared about Aurora Godoy and her family created a GoFundMe web page to get community financial help for the family to help cover their funeral costs, and assist them in the aftermath of this tragedy.
Isaac Amanios
Isaac Amanios – a 60 year old man from Fontana, was a health inspector for San Bernardino County. He leaves behind his wife, Hiwet Gebreslassie, and three adult children. He was the cousin of Nat Berhe, a Fontana native who’s a safety for the New York Giants.
Harry Bowman
Harry Bowman
Harry Bowman – a 46 year old man from Upland, who had just started on his job as a statistical analyst with San Bernardino County’s environmental health services on September 19, 2015. He had two teenage daughters. He was a native of York, Pennsylvania. He had just received a Christmas present from his mother, which sat on the doorstep. He never made it home.
Yvette Velasco
Yvette Velasco
Yvette Velasco – a 27 year old woman from Fontana, who was a an environmental health specialist for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. Her family released a statement: “Yvette was an intelligent, motivated, and beautiful young woman, who was full of life and loved by all who knew her. We are devastated about what happened, and are still processing this nightmare. We ask that you please respect our family’s privacy in order to grieve our loss. Yvette is survived by her parents, Robert and Marie Velasco, and her three sisters, Adriana, Erica, and Genevieve. Please pray for our family and the other families who have lost a loved one as a result of this terrible tragedy.”
Sierra Clayborn
Sierra Clayborn
Sierra Clayborn – a 27 year old woman from Moreno Valley, who worked as an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. She was a graduate of University of California, Riverside. Like many others around the world, Sierra Clayborn added the French flag to her Facebook profile soon after the terrorist attack in Paris on November 13. How could she know that she too would be a victim just barely over two weeks later?
Sierra Clayborn Defiantly Stood for Human Rights and Dignity of Paris Terrorist Victims
Robert Adams
Robert Adams
Robert Adams – a 40 year old man from Yucaipa, leaves behind his wife, Summer, and his daughter, Savannah. Robert Adams was an environmental health specialist for the San Bernardino County Health Department. Friends and supporters of Robert Adams created a GoFundMe web page to raise funds to help his family.
Damian Meins
Damien Meins
Damian Meins – a 58 year old man of San Pedro, who had only been working for San Bernardino County for a short time. He previously worked for a physical education teacher at St. Catherine’s School in Riverside. Damian Meins was also an Extended Care Coordinator at St. Catherine of Alexandria School in Riverside, where he also helped kids create Christmas art projects and religious murals. Damian Meins received a Community Recognition Award for his work in Riverside, which was based on “compassion, courage, forgiveness, generosity, humility, inclusiveness, integrity, kindness, respect and service.”
Michael Wetzel
Michael Wetzel
Michael Wetzel – a 37 year old man from Lake Arrowhead, who worked as the supervising environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. He leaves behind a wife and six children. His friends created a YouCaring crowdfunding page in order to help his family, where you can also see his entire family. “So many prayers needed,” Wetzel’s wife wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon. They were an active part of the Church of the Woods in Lake Arrowhead.
CNN Security reporter Jim Sciutto reported on December 4, 2015 that the Garland, Texas terrorists Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi also pledged allegiance to ISIS. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi attacked the at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on May 3, 2015, with the goal of disrupting an event inside and killing one of the event participants. They shot a security guard in the ankle. Both Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi were shot and killed by police.
On Twitter, minutes prior to the attack, one of the gunmen posted “May Allah accept us as mujahideen” with the hashtag #texasattack. He wrote that both attackers had pledged allegiance to “Amirul Mu’mineen”, a likely reference to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The statements also requested others to follow an ISIS propagandist, Junaid Hussain, on Twitter. After the shooting, Hussain wrote: “Allahu Akbar!!!! 2 of our brothers just opened fire.
Screen shot of Garland, TX Terrorists (Source CNN Twitter)
One of the victims of the San Bernardino, California terrorist attack had received a threatening message the day before the December 2, 2015 attack. The day before the terrorist attack, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer, victim Nicholas Thalasinos reportedly “had posted about a threat he had received that included the words ‘you will die and never see Israel.’ ” Nicholas Thalasinos was a Messianic Jew.
Nicholas Thalasinos, Messianic Jew, was killed in San Bernardino terrorist attack – he received a threat the day before “you will die and never see Israel” – he objected to ISIS extremist views (Source: Facebook)
In addition, TIME Magazine reports that Kuuleme Stephens said “he happened to call 52-year-old Nicholas Thalasinos while he was at work and having a discussion with Syed Farook.” TIME Magazine reports that “they had a heated conversation about Islam two weeks before the attack.” TIME Magazine’s interview also added comments from Kuuleme Stephens that “[s]he added that Farook said Americans don’t understand Islam.”
Nicholas Thalasinos’ wife, Jennifer Thalasinos, lives in another part of the country and was contacted by the New York Times. According to the New York Times, “[i]n a phone interview, Jennifer Thalasinos said that her husband of nine years had been friendly with Mr. Farook, and that they were part of the same ‘little group’ of employees. ‘He had worked with him,’ Ms. Thalasinos said of her husband. ‘He had talked about him. Nothing negative.'” The New York Times added “‘My husband was very outspoken about ISIS and all of these radicalized Muslims,’ she said, adding, ‘If he would’ve thought that somebody in his office was like that, he would’ve said something.'”
Los Angeles News KTLA Channel 5 reported that Syed Farook “apparently was radicalized and in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism, law enforcement officials said Thursday.” CNN reported that “Farook himself had talked by phone and on social media with more than one person being investigated for terrorism, law enforcement officials said. The communications were ‘soft connections’ in that they weren’t frequent, one law enforcement official said. It had been a few months since Farook’s last back-and-forth with these people, who officials said were not considered high priority.”
Los Angeles CBS reported that Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik were reportedly viewing ISIS propaganda, stating that “[a] source also told CBS News that the pair were looking at ISIS propaganda online.” CNN reported that the San Bernarino police chief addressed “the discovery of hundreds of rounds of ammunition in their rented black SUV as well as in their apartment. Authorities also found 12 pipe bombs there, as well as hundreds of tools that could be used to construct IEDs or pipe bombs,’ the chief said.”
Per the Clarion-Ledger, the San Bernardino police chief reported that “a search of the couple’s home turned up 2,000 9mm rounds, more than 2500 .223-caliber rounds and “several hundred” 22 long rifle rounds, as well as 12 pipe bombs and tools for making more explosive devices. He said the pair had rented their black SUV getaway car several days earlier and were supposed to return it on the day of the assault.”
The New York Times reports that “[i]nside the the small townhouse where the couple returned after the shooting, investigators found what they termed a fairly large “dedicated work space” and several tools that appeared to have been used to create pipe bombs, according to law enforcement officials. Along with the dozen devices that were in the home, the authorities found smokeless powder, the officials said. That substance is most often found in bullets but can also be used to set off pipe bombs. The Boston Marathon bombers used that type of substance to ignite their devices.”
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in unified support for the Universal Human Rights of all of our fellow human beings of every identity group, with respect for their human rights, dignity, and security. We will also defy those extremists ideologies that seek the destruction of such rights, dignity, and security, especially those who use cold-blooded tactics of murder and mayhem to enforce their political will. We will always recognize such acts of violence as nothing other than Terrorism.
R.E.A.L. provides a snapshot from this report on the legal status of ISIS America recruits, including showing concentrations of arrests (which does not necessarily equate to concentration of recruits). The main point is that “56 individuals were arrested in 2015, the largest number of terrorism arrests in a single year since September 2001.” As R.E.A.L. pointed out in October 2015, this appears to represent the ability to stop just a small fraction of ISIS American recruits.
On Wednesday, March 25, 2015, the FBI arrested two men involved as American recruits of the ISIS terrorist organization, from Aurora, Illinois. The two ISIS American recruits arrested by the FBI were: Army National Guard Specialist Hasan Edmonds, 22, a U.S. citizen, and his cousin Jonas Edmonds, 29, a U.S. citizen. They were “arrested without incident at Chicago Midway International Airport by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) while attempting to fly to Cairo, Egypt.” “Both defendants were charged in a criminal complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois with one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization.”
Army National Guard Specialist Hasan Edmonds also wrote about his desire to conduct a terrorist attack on the United States of America, similar to the attacks on Paris.
In the arrest complaint, Army National Guard Specialist Hasan Edmonds planned to use his military training to use to fight on behalf of ISIS terrorist organization, and planned to travel “from Chicago and arrive in Cairo, Egypt, with layovers in Detroit and Amsterdam.”
In addition, they plotted a terrorist against the United States of America. The FBI reports: “As alleged in the complaint, both defendants also planned for Jonas Edmonds to carry out an act of terrorism in the United States after Hasan Edmonds departed. In particular, both defendants met with an FBI undercover employee and presented a plan to carry out an armed attack against a U.S. military facility in northern Illinois, an installation where Hasan Edmonds had been training. Jonas Edmonds asked the FBI undercover employee to assist in the attack and explained that they would use Hasan Edmonds’ uniforms and the information he supplied about how to access the installation and target officers for attack.”
As the New Yorker also reported on their case, Jonas Edmonds wrote “about ‘bring[ing] the pain to them here,’ maximizing ‘damage and mayhem,’ and ‘something like the brother in Paris did.’ ”
The FBI reports that the two men were indicted on April 3, 2015: “Conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.”
On November 19, 2015, the Chicago Tribune reported that both men pled guilty. The Chicago Tribune reports: “Two Aurora cousins who had allegedly aligned themselves with the Islamic State terror organization intend to plead guilty next month to charges alleging they plotted to carry out an attack earlier this year on the Joliet Armory. In a brief court hearing Thursday, a lawyer for Jonas and Hasan Edmonds said both are finalizing written plea agreements with prosecutors. U.S. District Judge John Lee set separate hearings next month for the two to plead guilty. The indictment charges both with conspiring to provide material support and resources to Islamic State.” “Federal agents had been tracking them since late last year when Hasan Edmonds exchanged Facebook messages about his desire to join Islamic State with an agent posing as a militant, according to the complaint.”
Hasan Edmonds (left), an Army National Guard specialist, and his cousin ,Jonas Edmonds (right), are charged with a conspiracy in which Hasan would travel overseas to join the ISIS terrorist group, while Jonas would coordinate an attack on the National Guard facility where Hasan had trained. (Source: CBS)
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all.
The U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee has provided a report on November 2, 2015, on the growing threat of the ISIS terrorist organization to Western nation targets, including the United States of America. It states “vast majority of the 900 active homegrown extremist investigations involve links to ISIS.” The Homeland Security Committee maintains a terrorist threat map for the United States of America. In the Committee’s October report, it stated that 17 out of the 61 planned ISIS plots against Western targets were focused on the USA. In the November report, it increased that total number by 1 to 62 ISIS plots with 18 plots in the USA.
— “ISIS is fueling an unprecedented tempo for law enforcement authorities combating the homegrown Islamist extremist threat. The vast majority of the 900 active homegrown extremist investigations involve links to ISIS. Authorities have already arrested nearly 60 individuals this year in ISIS-related cases.”
— “ISIS’s global expansion has unleashed a wave of violence around the world – including against Western targets. From July through September this year, ISIS-affiliated groups launched around 12 attacks every day killing more than 30 people worldwide. ISIS’s calls for attacks are resonating with its supporters in the West. ISIS has directed or inspired 62 plots to attack Western targets, including 18 inside the United States.”
— “Al Qaeda and its affiliates are regenerating their terror networks and capitalizing on power vacuums.Al Qaeda is exploiting the diminished American troop presence and weak local security forces in Afghanistan in order to rebuild its sanctuary. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has captured additional territory in Yemen amidst the ongoing war there.”
— “Foreign fighters converging on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq pose a continuing threat to the United States and our allies. A French fighter returnee reportedly described Syria as a “factory of jihadists” trained to launch external attacks in the near future. A recent House Homeland Security Committee bipartisan task force found that security weaknesses overseas are enabling fighters to travel more freely.
— “The massive refugee flows out of Syria remain vulnerable to terrorists seeking to exploit the crisis to infiltrate the West. American national security officials cautioned during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on October 21 that our limited intelligence picture of the conflict zone in Syria has the potential to undermine the integrity of the U.S. refugee resettlement screening process.”
— “Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred overseas continue to pose a threat to U.S. national security interests. Nearly one in three detainees released from the facility have rejoined or are suspected of having rejoined Islamist terror groups. The Obama Administration transferred two more detainees out of Guantanamo in October.”
— “The world’s leading state sponsor of Islamist terror, Iran, continues to sow instability and is poised to gain additional resources in the coming months as a result of sanctions relief. Iran has ramped up its military involvement in Syria in conjunction with its proxies, the Assad regime, and Russia. The Obama Administration is preparing to provide Iran with additional sanctions relief under the terms of the nuclear agreement, meanwhile, the Iranian parliament vowed that the “martyr-nurturing nation of Iran” will continue chanting “Death to America.”
— “Al Qaeda and its affiliates are regenerating their terror networks and capitalizing on power vacuums. Al Qaeda is exploiting the diminished American troop presence and weak local security forces in Afghanistan in order to rebuild its sanctuary. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has captured additional territory in Yemen amidst the ongoing war there.”
— “Foreign fighters converging on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq pose a continuing threat to the United States and our allies. A French fighter returnee reportedly described Syria as a “factory of jihadists” trained to launch external attacks in the near future. A recent House Homeland Security Committee bipartisan task force found that security weaknesses overseas are enabling fighters to travel more freely.
The massive refugee flows out of Syria remain vulnerable to terrorists seeking to exploit the crisis to infiltrate the West. American national security officials cautioned during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on October 21 that our limited intelligence picture of the conflict zone in Syria has the potential to undermine the integrity of the U.S. refugee resettlement screening process.
— “Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred overseas continue to pose a threat to U.S. national security interests. Nearly one in three detainees released from the facility have rejoined or are suspected of having rejoined Islamist terror groups. The Obama Administration transferred two more detainees out of Guantanamo in October.”
— “The world’s leading state sponsor of Islamist terror, Iran, continues to sow instability and is poised to gain additional resources in the coming months as a result of sanctions relief. Iran has ramped up its military involvement in Syria in conjunction with its proxies, the Assad regime, and Russia. The Administration is preparing to provide Iran with additional sanctions relief under the terms of the nuclear agreement, meanwhile, the Iranian parliament vowed that the “martyr-nurturing nation of Iran” will continue chanting ‘Death to America.'”
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all
On October 4, 2014, the FBI arrested American ISIS recruit Mohammed Hamzah Khan, a 19 year old man, in the Chicago, IL suburb of Bolingbrook, for allegedly attempting to travel overseas to join a foreign terrorist organization operating inside Iraq and Syria.
On January 8, 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Mohammed Hamzah Khan, who was charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in a single-count indictment. The FBI reports: “According to the complaint affidavit, a roundtrip ticket was purchased for Khan on Sept. 26 to travel from Chicago to Istanbul, departing on Saturday, and returning later this week. Law enforcement agents observed Khan passing through the security screening checkpoint Saturday afternoon at O’Hare’s international terminal. Federal agents then executed a search warrant at Khan’s residence and recovered multiple handwritten documents that appeared to be drafted by Khan and/or others, which expressed support for ISIL, the affidavit alleges. Some of those documents, including travel plans and materials referencing ISIL and jihad, are described in the complaint affidavit. Khan was initially approached by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and was later interviewed later by FBI agents at the airport.”
On October 29, 2015 ,American ISIS recruit Mohammed Hamzah Khan pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. Department of Justice reported: “Beginning no later than approximately February 2014, Khan used the Internet to obtain introductions to ISIL members in Syria and to assist him with traveling there to join the terrorist group, according to the plea agreement. Khan spoke with ISIL members to coordinate the logistics of his admission into ISIL-controlled territory, the plea agreement states. Khan admitted in the plea agreement that he knew ISIL had been designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. Upon arriving in Syria, according to the plea agreement, Khan intended to work under the direction and control of ISIL, and be required to take any assignment ISIL gave him.”
The UK Guardian reports that: “His 17-year-old sister and 16-year-old brother were also arrested at O’Hare international airport as he tried to board a plane to Vienna en route to Istanbul, but were not charged. Khan, who lived with his parents, was described by neighbors as a polite teenager. But he left a letter expressing disgust: ‘We are all witness that the western societies are getting more immoral day by day,’ he wrote. ‘I do not want my kids being exposed to filth like this.’ ”
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for December 3, 2015.
American ISIS recruit Mohammed Hamzah Khan, Bolingbrook, IL (Source: Facebook)
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all
— “Concerted efforts to stem the flow of Americans and others traveling to join jihadists overseas have largely failed. The House Homeland Security Committee’s bipartisan Foreign Fighter Task Force found that authorities have only managed to stop a tiny fraction of the hundreds of aspiring U.S. jihadists from leaving the country to join terrorists abroad. Moreover, the U.S. government lacks a strategy for combating terrorist travel, and glaring security gaps overseas are putting the American homeland in danger.”
— “Despite a year of airstrikes, the United States and its allies have failed to rollback ISIS. In fact, the group has largely maintained its core terrorist safe haven while expanding its global footprint. ISIS kept its grip on Iraq’s Anbar province as the counter-offensive to take back the key city of Ramadi was put on ‘operational pause.’ Its affiliates in Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, and the Caucasus showed their growing strength by launching attacks or targeting local security forces over the past month.”
— “ISIS’s global campaign has fueled attacks against Western targets at an unprecedented pace. As of early October, the group has inspired or directed 61 terror attack plots against Western targets, including 17 in the United States. There have been more than twice as many ISIS-linked attack plots against Western targets in 2015 (41) than in 2014 (20). Now officials have expressed concern that ISIS may be exploiting refugee flows to enter the West undetected.”
— “The homegrown Islamist extremist threat in the United States has escalated dramatically this year. There have been more U.S.-based jihadist terror cases in 2015 than in any full year since 9/11. The number of U.S. terrorist cases involving homegrown Islamist extremists has gone from 38 in July 2010 to 127 today—more than a three-fold increase in just five years. See the Committee’s interactive Terror Threat Snapshot map, here.”
Report from U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all.
On September 29, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee released a bi-partisan “Final Report of the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel.” This report includes a list of American “foreign fighter aspirants and recruits,” in Appendix II of the report, on pages 58-59. Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has excepted the original alphabetically sorted list from the original Adobe Acrobat PDF format file, into Microsoft Excel, and sorted the list of 58 names by state.
We have provided the results of these American recruits (in this report) and listed them by state. We do not believe this is the entire listing of all ISIS recruits, but is a subset of ISIS American recruits whose cases are so well-publicized that the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee felt it was appropriate to list their names in this public listing. We are confident the actual listing is significantly larger and widespread than this listing. However, in this list of 58 American foreign fighter recruits, which includes ISIS recruits as well as recruits to other organizations.
It does show that foreign fighter recruits in 19 states, ages from 15 to 44 years old, the majority male (49) but also including females (9), and the largest concentrations in California (6) and Minnesota (15). States represented in this listing of American foreign fighter recruits include: Alabama (1), Arizona (1), California (6), Colorado (4), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Illinois (3), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (15), Missouri (1), Mississippi (2), North Carolina (3), New Jersey (3), New York (4), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania (2), Texas (4), Wisconsin (1).
From the individuals in this table, it shows 58 Americans, and of those 50 are ISIS-related, and the remaining eight are Al-Qaeda affiliates. Of the 58, nine are women, and of those nine, eight are ISIS-related. So the overwhelming majority are related to ISIS. From the individuals listed in this table, it shows ISIS in Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin.
This short list is simply one of accused “foreign fighters,” but does not include many others. For example, R.E.A.L. is well aware of other high-profile cases which inexplicably are not on this list (perhaps because they weren’t considered enough of a “foreign fighter), whose goal is primarily to conduct ISIS terrorist attacks WITHIN the United States, such as our report on Cincinnati, Ohio American ISIS terrorist Christopher Cornell, who plotted a mass murder attack on the U.S. Capitol and also confessed to a plot against the Israeli Embassy.
The challenge remains that the American people need a CENTRAL REPOSITORY or report of the threat of ISIS terrorists to and from the U.S. homeland, which provides updates on the status of this struggle. But this does not seem to be a political priority for too many in the U.S. Government. The American people should expect more than individually hunting down random news reports to understand the status and progress of our national and homeland security, whether it is politically convenient for some leaders or not. We urge responsible leaders to take this to heart.
Furthermore, the September 29, 2015 Homeland Security Committee indicates that the relatively few American ISIS that are arrested represent just a small fraction of American ISIS who successfully reach the Middle East for training and/or terrorist activity. The report also states that “Intelligence officials estimate more than 250 Americans have tried or succeeded in getting to Syria and Iraq to fight with militant groups. This includes individuals who were stopped before traveling, who made it to the conflict zone and are still there, who were killed, and others who have come back. Some have been arrested on terror charges, though most have not. Americans are being recruited in growing numbers and continue to attempt to migrate to jihadist battlefields in Syria and beyond, posing a serious counterterrorism challenge for the United States.” (page 15). The report also states “The majority of aspiring foreign fighters have managed to make it out of the United States without being stopped. Of the 250-plus Americans who have joined or tried to join extremists in Syria and Iraq, we were able to identify only 28 cases in which U.S. authorities apprehended suspects before they departed for the Middle East.”‘
So when you look at the numbers, essentially, almost 90 percent of Americans are making it to the Middle East to join ISIS or other terrorist organizations.
Of the 58 representative recent “foreign fighters,” in the U.S. Congressional report, R.E.A.L. has taken this report and added additional information on Affiliation, Status, and Link (hyperlink for more information.) This custom version of this report was generated by R.E.A.L. in Microsoft Excel, and is available for distribution in MS Excel format (email us at usa@realcourage.org).
As always, any individuals not convicted, but charged with crimes are always to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) believes that our commitment for human rights must also include a commitment to the halt of anti-human rights terrorist organizations, with a goal to undermine human rights, spread hatred and intolerance, and to promote violence and death.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all.
1. Abdi Nur, 20 — At Large Reported Dead
— MPRNews Report
— “From Minneapolis to ISIS: An American’s Path to Jihad” – March 21, 2015 – New York Times — November 24, 2014 – FBI reports: “Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew M. Luger today announced a criminal complaint charging Abdi Nur, 20 with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Nur is additionally charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.” “According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, Abdi Nur departed from the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport for Istanbul, Turkey on May 29, 2014. Prior to his departure, on April 24, 2014, Nur obtained an expedited U.S. passport. On May 24, 2014, Nur made an ATM deposit of $1,540 in cash to his checking account. On May 27, 2014, Nur purchased an airline ticket for $1,619.30, using a debit card associated with the same checking account. Like Yusuf, Nur was unemployed when he purchased his airline ticket. Nur successfully boarded a flight for Turkey on May 29, 2014. He was scheduled to return to the United States on June 16, 2014, but did not. According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, Nur had become ‘much more religious,’ in the two months preceding his departure, including talking about how his family needed to pray more and wear more traditional clothing. Nur began to talk about jihad during this time period. According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, Nur has communicated via Facebook with an individual in the United States after his departure for Turkey. During those communications, Nur stated that he has gone ‘to the brothers,’ and that we ‘will see each other in the afterlife inshallah,’ and ‘im not coming back’ (sic). Nur has also communicated with a separately charged defendant, Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan, aka “Miski.’ According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, after asking Nur if he knew ‘Duale’ (a U.S. citizen known to have traveled to Syria), Miski advised Nur ‘…Being connected in Jihad make you stronger and you can all help each other by fulfilling theduties that Allah swt (sic) put over you…Like us in Somalia the brothers from mpls are well connected so try to do the same….It is something we have learned after six years in Jihad.'”
— MPRNews Report – also linked with Douglas McAuthur McCain – “Abdirahmaan Muhumed was one of the first Minneapolis men to enlist with ISIS. He was in his late 20s when he left toward the end of 2013.:
NBC: Prosecutors say Yusuf, a Somali American, obtained a passport and then bought a $1,417.05 airline ticket from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, intending to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, on May 28. He was arrested at the airport shortly before his flight. Investigators say Yusuf is associated with another Minnesota man who’s now believed to be fighting in Syria. He is referred to in court documents only as “H.M.”
12. Mohamud Mohamed Mohamud, 20
— Believed Dead – September 2014
— “Mohamud’s father in Minneapolis told the Voice of America’s Somali service that his son disappeared without warning after saying he was going to a mosque for Friday prayers.”
— MPR News Report
Yusra Ismail
Yusra Ismail (Source: High School Class Photo, Flickr)
13. Yusra Ismail, 20 — At large; charged with stealing and misusing a passport
— Criminal Complaint — Star-Tribune: “St. Paul woman charged with stealing passport to travel to Syria” — “Gone to Syria: Family fears woman latest Minnesotan drawn to war-torn region” — MPR News Report — December 20, 2014 – Minnesota Woman Charged with Stealing Passport to Travel to Syria (FBI). Yusra Ismail is not a U.S. Citizen, but lived as a resident in Minnesota. The FBI reports: “According to the complaint and documents filed in court, on August 18, 2014, Yusra Ismail visited a friend and asked to see her passport. Before leaving her home on that day, Yusra Ismail surreptitiously took the passport and subsequently left her friend’s home. According to the complaint and documents filed in court, three days later, Yusra Ismail asked a different friend to drive her to Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport, from which she departed on a flight bound for Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She later traveled from Amsterdam to Oslo, Norway. According to the complaint and documents filed in court, Yusra Ismail contacted members of her family on August 24, 2014, and told one or more of them that she was in “Sham,” which is a term commonly used to describe the area within Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is attempting to establish a caliphate. There is no record that Yusra Ismail, who is not a United States citizen, has lawfully returned to the United States. Yusra Ismail is charged with stealing and misusing a passport. Ismail departed the United States on a stolen passport and told her parents she was in ‘Sham,’ a term used to describe the area within Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is attempting to establish a caliphate.”
Yusuf Jama
Yusuf Jama (Source: Star-Tribune)
14. Yusuf Jama, 21 – At Large – Believed dead
— MPRNews Report
— Reported dead in Somalia (Star-Tribune: “From the Heartland to Jihad” – “Another One Gone”) – in June 2014 “he bought a round-trip airline ticket from JFK airport to Istanbul. After taking a Greyhound bus to New York, he was gone. A little more than a week after he disappeared, Jama called home. He was using the same Turkish telephone number Nur had used. ‘He called me, but he didn’t tell me where is he,’ his mother, Alia Salim, tearfully recounted. ‘I don’t know if it’s Syria, I don’t know if it was somewhere else, but he called me. He said, ‘Mom, I left the country and I don’t want to come back.’ Months later, she got a call from her other son living in Somalia. Jama was dead, he told her.’ ”
Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman
Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman
15. Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, 19 – Pleaded guilty, In custody; charged with conspiracy and attempt to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization
— MPRNews Report
— Zacharia Abdurahman pleaded guilty — May 2015 – Seven Minnesota Men Indicted For Conspiracy To Provide Material Support To The Islamic State Of Iraq And The Levant: Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count; Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count
—“Abdurahman’s [guilty] plea is particularly interesting because, in recordings gathered by an FBI informant, he allegedly said efforts to de-radicalize this group of ISIS recruits are ‘hopeless.’ ‘With me, all of us, we’re hopeless, we’re not gonna be in a program, bro,’ Abdurahman told another recruit. ‘We will straight up serve time. They know they cannot change you. Because you’re an adult, you know.'”
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Surely American children deserve more attention and concern then such half-hearted treatment by the major mainstream media?
ISIS America – ISIS Recruits from Minnesota
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) notes that all those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all, and we stand in defiance against those, including terrorist and hate groups, which seek to attack such universal human rights, dignity, and security for all.
