In the North of Syria in the beginning of the month the Kurdish forces during the operation to free one of the districts from units fighting for the Islamic state, took the captives, including a number of foreigners — immigrants from Europe, Pakistan and, as it turned out, the United States. Among them was Warren Christopher Clark from Texas — now he is detained in one of the Kurdish groups.
Warren Christopher Clark (Abu Mohammad al-Ameriki) and Zaid Abed al-Hamid (Abu Zaid al-Ameriki), two Americans captured by the SDF in Dereizor #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/a2sIQ5sO3B
— Mutlu Civiroglu (@mutludc) January 7, 2019
34-year-old Clark came here three years ago and, according to him, worked in the post of teacher of English. Born in Houston, where he graduated from University, then worked for many years as a school teacher in Texas. NBC managed to talk to him without the presence of protection, after hearing his candid story.
Clark appeared in ISIS is not by accident and not by force — came celebravano and deliberately, in advance, by sending an electronic resume. Traveled through Turkey, upon arrival in the summer of 2015, took the name Abu Mohammed al-America. Now says that never took up arms, took no part in the fighting and was not involved in the armed structures. To a journalist’s question, with what purpose he came here, Clark said that he wanted to be closer to «great events». General Clark was fond of politics, history, loved to travel – «I want to go and have a look, what is ISIS, to understand their ideas…»
Shortly after the decision of #US President #Trump to withdraw all #American troops from #Syria, the #YPG terror organisation had threatened Coalition forces with releasing thousand of #ISIS prisoners in case of a #Turkish military operation pic.twitter.com/DxMcIjd7PL
— EHA News (@eha_news) January 16, 2019
At the front Clarke was not, but the war was never too far: «This place constantly bombed. We were always on the verge. Day and night, only bombs and airstrikes. We slept in the middle of the day. I spent most of his time living in the mosque. I just remember how every day, wanted not to be bombed».
Two US troops, two American civilians killed in ISIS attack in Syria https://t.co/hz9dPj0vnd pic.twitter.com/WzuR0ngMy4
— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) January 17, 2019
A few times Clark had seen the execution, and told the journalist that he was not shocked and, in General, ending the conversation said he didn’t regret his trip to LIH. On the future of Warren Clarke is now impossible to say. The U.S. state Department does not comment on either his future or the prospects of other Americans who were in ISIS is voluntary.
Shiraz Maher, Deputy Director of the International centre for the study of radicalization and political violence at king’s College London, said that there have been conflicting reports about how many foreign fighters have remained in Syria. «Some were captured, some were killed, some still alive and working.»
Unlike Europe, from countries where the ranks of the LIH joined the thousands of volunteers, residents of the United States in the ranks under black flags were not so much. Last year, the report of the Program of the extremism of the George Washington University it was found that in 2011 64 American went to Iraq and Syria to support the Islamic state.
