A U.S.-born Somali militant fighting in Syria has revealed how he went from being a normal American kid to joining an al Qaeda-linked group.

[Admin]

A U.S.-born militant fighting in Syria has revealed how he went from being a normal American kid to joining an al Qaeda-linked group.

The interview sheds light on why Americans - more than a dozen - have traveled to Syria to join militant groups.

Speaking to CBS News, the Somali American, who grew up in the Midwest, kept his identity hidden and instead asked to be known as Ibn Zubayr.

'When I was living in America, I was just a normal kid,' Zubayr said. 'I liked sports and whatnot, growing up, watching movies, just like any other American.'

Speaking out: A Somali American, who calls himself Ibn Zubayr, has spoken to CBS about why he moved from the U.S. to fight for Syrian militants. He said the country is under terrorist attacks from America

But during college, he dropped out to study Islam in the Middle East and was moved by the plight of the Syrian people who were under attack by their own government.

So two years ago, he joined rebel group Jabhat al Nusra to fight against the government.

Now he says that the country is under attack from America.

'I don't hate America,' he said. 'That's my home. That's where I grew up. I don't have a need to hate America itself. But the government and their policies as far as the Muslim lands, that's another story.'

His home was recently hit in U.S. airstrikes in Syria. The U.S. government says the strikes targeted terrorists planning to attack America - but Zubayr said any attack would be a reaction to the U.S.

Interview: He spoke with CBS' Clarissa Ward and told her the Muslim world experiences 9/11s every day

Militant: He joined rebel group Jabhat al Nusra two years ago but says he does not hate America

'I wouldn't consider it a terrorist attack,' he said. 'If anything happened there, I would consider it a reaction to this action... There is no threat from us if we don't get hit.' 

He said that the U.S. is killing innocent people in Syria, which he deems to be a terrorist attack.

I don't hate America [but] there's no tears being shed from me if something happened in America

'There's no tears being shed from me if something happened in America,' he said.

When CBS reporter Clarissa Ward said that the way he looked up to Osama bin Laden could upset his fellow Americans because of 9/11, he responded: 'We have 9/11s every day in the Muslim lands.'

He added that he himself would not take part in an attack on America - not because he would not want to, but because the U.S. authorities are watching him.

He told CBS that authorities know he is fighting in Syria and have visited his family in the Midwest. As a result, he is not allowed to travel anywhere that would require using his passport.

Zubayr would not reveal his American identity to protect family members. 

'Terrorism': A photograph taken from Turkey on Thursday shows smoke rising following U.S.-led airstrikes in Kobani, Syria. Zubayr says the attacks will cause militants to react and attack the U.S.

Battle: Another Western-born militant, Yilmaz, who was previously with the Dutch Army, previously spoke to CBS about moving to Syria when seeing how Syrians were being killed by President Assad's regime

Former life: Yilmaz, pictured when he was in the Dutch Army, left Holland two years ago for Syria so he could fight for fellow Muslims. He said ISIS's brutality comes nowhere close to that of Assad's regime

Ward traveled undercover to Syria to interview Zubayr and another Westerner - a former Dutch Army fighter known as Yilmaz - battling against the U.S.

While both men oppose the United States, they are not members of the Islamic state. Ward told the Associated Press she would not have traveled into Syria to meet with members of that group.

She has been to Syria 11 times since the civil war began there, but this was the first time she has gone since Islamic state rebels beheaded two American journalists and two British aid workers.

'I felt comfortable and secure,' Ward said. 'While any trip into Syria or Iraq or Gaza entails a certain amount of risk, I did not feel this trip was riskier than many others that journalists have made.'

Ward said she had several discussions with Yilmaz online and talked in person with people who said they knew him. In turn, Yilmaz made her aware of Ibn Zubayr.

Source:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.somaliaonline.com/a-u-s-born-somali-militant-fighting-in-syria-has-revealed-how-he-went-from-being-a-normal-american-kid-to-joining-an-al-qaeda-linked-group/