By Felicia Schwartz And Natalie Andrews
WASHINGTON--An American citizen who left the U.S. this year to
fight with Islamic State militants in Syria was shot dead during a
battle with rival Syria opposition fighters late last week in
Aleppo, according to the Obama administration and a Syrian
opposition official.
The incident served to underscore concerns expressed in recent
days by administration officials over the threat posed by Islamist
fighters from the U.S. and West who have passports that could allow
them to return home to carry out domestic terror attacks.
"The piece that we're very concerned about now...is the threat
of foreign fighters who have Western passports, and that's a piece
that we're tracking closely as well because we think it could pose
a threat to us," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said
Tuesday.
Douglas McCain, 33 years old, traveled overseas this year before
entering Syria, said Michael Roland, a cousin.
The Syrian opposition official said Mr. McCain was fighting with
the group calling itself the Islamic State in the northern Aleppo
countryside when he was killed.
An American passport found on his body was issued in November
2013, according to a photograph provided by a Syrian opposition
official to The Wall Street Journal. Mr. McCain died wearing
military-style camouflage and a flak vest with ammunition pouches.
His body had gaping bullet wounds in the head, jaw and leg, the
photo, provided by the same official, shows.
Mr. McCain was born in Illinois and attended high school in the
Minneapolis area, according to public records. He later moved to
San Diego, where he has relatives, and was a student at San Diego
City College. His mother remains in Minneapolis, Mr. Roland
said.
Many of Mr. McCain's family members were stunned to learn about
his ties to the Islamic State, Mr. Roland said. "This is like, 'Are
you serious?' This is not the kid that I knew of," he said.
Mr. McCain's mother was informed of his death by U.S. government
officials on Monday, Mr. Roland said. The State Department is in
contact with his family and is providing consular assistance, Ms.
Psaki said.
The U.S. has no evidence that the Islamic State is planning to
carry out 9/11-style attacks, but has been monitoring the group's
capabilities for signs that it could shift tactics.
The State Department estimates that 12,000 foreign fighters from
over 50 countries have gone to fight in Syria. Americans likely
make up only a very small portion of this group, experts say.
U.K. officials now believe about 500 British citizens have gone
to Syria to fight with terrorist groups and that about half have
come back, a British security official said.
A National Security Council official said the government knew
that Mr. McCain was in Syria.
President Barack Obama is chairing a meeting of the United
Nations General Assembly in September to discuss the threat of
terrorism and foreign fighters.
"The issue of foreign fighters and the concern of individuals
with Western passports or passports that would enable them to
travel into countries where they can do harm is certainly at the
top of our agenda and the top of the agenda of many countries," Ms.
Psaki said.
The Pentagon also expressed concerns about foreign fighters in
Syria on Tuesday.
"And you don't need to look any further than the recruitment of
foreign fighters and the degree to which not just the United States
government, but many Western governments are concerned about these
foreign fighters leaving their shores, going over there, getting
radicalized, trained and then coming back and executing attacks,
which is not out of the realm of the possible," Pentagon spokesman
Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
Mr. McCain, who Mr. Roland said converted to Islam a number of
years ago, was active on Facebook under the name "Duale
ThaslaveofAllah." On Mr. McCain's Facebook page, he said he worked
for "Dawah -- Calling to Allah, " a page inviting people to join
Islam.
He regularly tweeted about Islam, under the handle @IamtheTooth.
"I reverted to Islam 10 years ago and I must say In-sha-Allah I
will never look back the best thing that ever happen to me," he
tweeted in June.
Mr. McCain's Facebook page was briefly updated Tuesday with a
new profile picture of a child crying. A few hours later, the page
was deactivated.
As news of his death spread, several family members expressed
shock and disbelief on Facebook. They later declined to comment or
couldn't be reached.
His sister, Lisa Roland, posted a message saying: "I won't ask
God why, but it hurts. My heart is heavy and my tears are because I
don't understand."
Another sister, Delecia McCain, called her brother's death
"unreal" on a Facebook posting, adding: "I really don't understand
why and how and I have no words."
Lisa Schwartz
, Adam Entous, John R. Emshwiller and Siobhan Gorman contributed
to this article.
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