Den f d amerikanske soldaten Eric Harroun
är sjukpensionerad ur US Army, vilket inte
hindrat honom från att ta värvning hos Al
Qaedas syriska gren Al Nusrahfronten.
Han greps vid ett besök i USA och står nu
åtalad för terrorism.
Harroun konverterade till islam 2008 och
tycks därefter ständigt ha varit på resor i
Mellanöstern.
Det är oklart när han värvades av jihadisterna.
Han skriver ofta på sin Facebooksida om
hatet mot judar och Israel som sin
främsta drivkraft.
"He describes himself as a Sunni Muslim on
Facebook and writes about his hatred of
Israel and Zionists. Under his 'Favorite
Quotations' section of his profile he
writes
'The only good Zionist is a dead Zionist.'"
"He describes himself as a Sunni Muslim on
Facebook and writes about his hatred of
Israel and Zionists. Under his 'Favorite
Quotations' section of his profile he
writes
'The only good Zionist is a dead Zionist.'"
**
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix,
was arrested and charged with
conspiring to use
a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) while fighting
with the al
Nusrah Front, an organization com-
monly referred to as “al Qaeda in Iraq” and
de-
signated as a foreign terrorist organization since
October 2004.
**
Harroun, a U.S. citizen who served with the U.S.
Army from 2000 to 2003, was
charged by criminal
complaint with conspiring to use a destructive
device
outside of the United States, which carries
a maximum penalty of life in prison,
if convicted.
Harroun made his initial appearance today in federal
court in
Alexandria, Virginia, before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Theresa C. Buchanan.
**
The al Nusrah Front is one of several aliases used
by the al Qaeda in Iraq
terrorist organization, and
since November 2011, the group has claimed
respon-
sibility for nearly 600 terrorist attacks in Syria.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal
complaint, Harroun
allegedly crossed into Syria in
January 2013 and fought with members of the al
Nusrah Front against the Bashar al Assad regime in
Syria. The affidavit alleges
that Harroun was trained
to use an RPG by members of the terrorist organization
and that he fired an RPG and posted online multiple
photographs of himself
carrying or posing with RPGs
and other military weapons. Harroun allegedly
partici-
pated in attacks led by the al Nusrah Front and was
part of an RPG team,
for which he carried anti-
personnel and anti-armor rockets.
