US-educated ISIS militant killed in Syria, terror group says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A U.S.-educated ISIS recruiter wanted by the FBI was killed in a coalition airstrike in January, the Islamic State announced Wednesday.
Ahmad Abousamra, a 35-year-old dual U.S.-Syrian citizen who was pivotal in running an online media campaign aimed at recruiting ISIS sympathizers around the world, was on the FBI's "most wanted" list since 2013.
Abousamra, who was born in Paris but brought up in Boston, was wanted by U.S. authorities for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers overseas.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to ISIS, Abousamra was killed in early January when a missile struck a house north of the Syrian city of Tabqa where he was staying.
The terror group made the announcement Wednesday in Islamic State publications, including the English language online magazine, "Rumiyah," which Abousamra helped to create.
Abousamra traveled to Yemen, Pakistan and Iraq before returning to the U.S., but later fled after his plans for an attack on U.S. soil were discovered, according to Reuters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abousamra joined the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front during the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 before later becoming a member of the Islamic State.
The FBI said Abousamra was indicted after taking multiple trips to Pakistan and Yemen where he allegedly attempted to obtain military training for the purpose of killing American soldiers abroad.
On Nov. 5, 2009, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Abousamra after he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, among other charges.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The FBI had offered a reward of $50,000 for information leading directly to the capture and return of Abousamra, who was the son of a prominent Boston endocrinologist and who graduated in 2006 from the University of Massachusetts-Boston with a degree in computer science.
A piece entitled, "Among the Believers Are Men" -- in the latest edition of Rumiyah published Wednesday -- the terror group eulogized Abousamra as one of the founders of the online magazine.
ISIS said the publication's goal is to "expand the Islamic State’s reach by releasing one magazine in several languages."