A US man from Florida launched a suicide bombing against Syrian government troops early last week in what is believed to be the first time a US citizen has been involved in such attacks since the start of the Syrian Civil War, US officials said on Friday.
The man’s name is Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, US Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a terse statement that provided no other details about him. Abu-Salha was thought to be the first US citizen to be involved in a suicide bombing in Syria’s three-year conflict, she had said earlier.
At least 160,000 people have died in the fighting between government forces and opposition forces seeking the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Photo: AFP/SITE INTELLIGENCE GROUP/HANDOUT
US Democratic Senator Bill Nelson told reporters in Miami that the suspected suicide bomber was from Florida.
Opposition forces had identified the man who carried out a May 25 truck bombing outside a restaurant in the government-held northwestern city of Idlib as “Abu Hurayra al-Amriki,” and said he was a US citizen. The name “al-Amriki” means “the American.”
It is unknown how many people died in the bombing. Opposition rebels with the al-Nusra Front said that Abu-Salha’s truck was laden with 14.5 tonnes of explosives to tear down the al-Fanar restaurant in Idlib, a gathering site for Syrian troops.
Asaad Kanjo, an opposition activist based in the town of Saraqeb in Idlib Province, said he heard that Abu-Salha arrived in Syria a few months ago and tore up his US passport upon arrival.
Kanjo said that even a local commander with the al-Nusra Front was surprised about Abu-Salha, quoting him as saying that people do all they can to try to go to the US to get such a passport, and this man came here and got rid of his.
“From what I heard, I believe he was an American of Arab origin. People said that he spoke Arabic with a foreign accent, and he used to speak classical Arabic,” Kanjo said.
He added that Abu-Salha was a member of the al-Nusra Front, but was not a commander. “Most probably he came to carry out this attack,” Kanjo said.
Abu-Salha was featured in a YouTube video posted by radical Islamists, who also touted his participation via other online social networks.
The truck bombing was one of four by suicide bombers who attacked over the course of a day in the area in Idlib.
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