American terrorist who fought in Syria, Arrested.

[Syrian Lion]

U.S. ex-soldier charged with using RPG for al Qaeda group
​

A former U.S. soldier has been arrested and charged with illegally using a weapon on behalf of an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Syria.

Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix was arrested Tuesday night by the FBI at a hotel near Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. A Justice Department official tells CNN that FBI agents questioned Harroun at the hotel, then took him into custody.

Harroun appeared Thursday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, and was charged in connection with his alleged use of a rocket-propelled grenade in Syria.

The law used to charge him states, "Any national of the United States who, without lawful authority, uses or threatens, attempts, or conspires to use a weapon of mass destruction outside of the U.S. shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or if death results, may be punished by death."

Harroun served with the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2003. He is not charged with targeting U.S. troops in Iraq.

The organization he allegedly fought with, al-Nusra Front, is one of several aliases used by the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist organization. The organization claims responsibility for nearly 600 terrorist attacks in Syria, the Justice Department said.

An FBI affidavit says Harroun crossed into Syria in January 2013 and fought against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. He posted photos and videos of himself on the Internet handling RPGs and other weapons, it said.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Harroun's arrest. However, "It's always a concern when terrorist networks in that part of the world and elsewhere seek to recruit Americans, whether they're in the military or not," spokesman George Little told CNN's Erin Burnett.
"I don't think this is a widespread phenomenon, and most of our people in this country -- and certainly most men and women in the military -- would not consider joining a terrorist network," Little added.
U.S. ex-soldier charged with using RPG for al Qaeda group - CNN.com

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Good joke... the U.S captured him to probably encourage him, it will send him back after he receives proper training... in addition the law that he was charged with was WMD usage, that mean the terrorists does have chemical weapons, and already uses chemical materials rocket in Aleppo...
Double standard, the US should now know that F$A are nothing but terrorists but they still support the terrorists F$A

 

[mohsen]

scandal of supporting Al-Qaeda in Syria was so shocking for Americans, now US government wants to pretend it's been just a radical group in US and not the government itself.
but who's gonna believe them?

 

[Syrian Lion]

As US Army veteran Eric Harroun awaits trial in Virginia for allegedly fighting alongside al-Qaeda supporters, the man’s father claims he was working for the CIA and was reporting back to the agency from Syria.

Harroun, a 30-year-old American from Phoenix, Arizona, has been charged by the US government for conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (namely a rocket propelled grenade launcher) to conduct an attack against the Syrian government. The US Army veteran dubbed by media 'Phoenix jihadist' appeared in numerous videos alongside members of the al-Nusra Front, designated by the State Department as a terrorist organization in December, but which has also been fighting alongside the Syrian opposition to take down the Assad regime. To date, 29 US-backed Syrian opposition groups have linked with al-Nusra, and have signed a petition calling for the support of the Islamist group that the White House believes is a branch of al-Qaeda.
According to FBI documents, Harroun traveled to Turkey last November and joined the fight led by the Free Syrian Army shortly thereafter. His father, Darryl Harroun, on Thursday told reporters that he doesn’t understand why the US government arrested his son, who he says was working for the Central Intelligence Agency.

He referred to his son as a ‘patriotic’ American who would never get involved with al-Qaeda, and claims he was gathering information for the US government.

“I know he was doing some work for the CIA over there,” the man’s father said. “I know for a fact that he was passing information onto the CIA.”

After seeing the documents regarding his son’s charges, Harroun told a CBS News reporter that it is all inaccurate and misleading and that the truth will eventually come out, since his son was simply gathering intelligence.

“About 99 percent of that stuff that you read on there is a bunch of bull,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any truth in any of this – he’s very patriotic”

'Phoenix jihadist's' dad claims son worked in Syria for CIA ? RT USA

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

The enemy of your enemy is your friend.

The authorities may have genuinely wanted to question him but his cause is aligned with "certain higher ups" so it's hard to imagine him sitting on the wrong side of the courtroom anytime soon.

Judging by his last name - is he an American of Syrian origin?

 

[Syrian Lion]

The enemy of your enemy is your friend.

The authorities may have genuinely wanted to question him but his cause is aligned with "certain higher ups" so it's hard to imagine him sitting on the wrong side of the courtroom anytime soon.

Judging by his last name - is he an American of Syrian origin?

I don't even think he is an Arab... and no he is not Syrian origin...

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Judging by his last name - is he an American of Syrian origin?

His last name is typical Anglo, while his Islamic middle name probably means he has recently converted to Islam.

 

[Ayush]

A terrorist is a terrorist.

The enemy of your enemy is your friend.

The authorities may have genuinely wanted to question him but his cause is aligned with "certain higher ups" so it's hard to imagine him sitting on the wrong side of the courtroom anytime soon.

Judging by his last name - is he an American of Syrian origin?

Maybe a convert.

 

[canadian icehole]

A rocket propelled grenade is now a WMD? So, when will assault rifles be considered to be a WMD? Pathetic. However, I am surprised that he lived.

 

[Syrian Lion]

A rocket propelled grenade is now a WMD? So, when will assault rifles be considered to be a WMD? Pathetic. However, I am surprised that he lived.

he probably helped fire the chemical rocket on Aleppo, but the U.S hides it... so they charged him with WMD without telling the media why ...

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

he probably helped fire the chemical rocket on Aleppo, but the U.S hides it... so they charged him with WMD without telling the media why ...

The US government is trying to clean the dirt by arresting this guy, but in fact they are trying to protect him.

 

[Syrian Lion]

The US government is trying to clean the dirt by arresting this guy, but in fact they are trying to protect him.

they want him dead now, but he returned to the U.S so they captured him, his own father said he works for CIA... Eric knows a lot of secrets... they wanted him either dead, on in the U.S arrested..

 

[Kompromat]

There is no evidence of him converting to Islam. His father has the same last name.

It looks more like a set up!

 

[Syrian Lion]

There is no evidence of him converting to Islam. His father has the same last name.

It looks more like a set up!

explain please... what do you mean a set up?

 

[Kompromat]

explain please... what do you mean a set up?

I am not in a position to make a statement, however in the world of espionage if an agent finds out what he is not supposed to find out, he ends up getting dumped.

 

[Syrian Lion]

I am not in a position to make a statement, however in the world of espionage if an agent finds out what he is not supposed to find out ends up getting dumped.

well arresting him is not a good way to dump him... if they let him die in Syria, or they killed him in Syria, I think it would be a way to get rid of him, better than arresting him and letting the media know?