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Alleged American ISIS defector from Virginia held in Iraq

Posted at 1:46 PM, Mar 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-16 13:46:04-04

Northern Iraq – Kurdish troops in northern Iraq detained an apparent American ISIS defector on Monday as he tried to make his way back to Turkey.

Virginia resident, Muhammad Jamal Amin, 27, was arrested as he approached a checkpoint near the Iraq town of Sinjar.

Kurdish officials initially believed the suspect was a suicide bomber, but he later identified himself as a former militant with ISIS who wished to turn himself in.

According to CBS, Amin had been in the region fighting with ISIS for only a couple of months.

Amin had various forms of identification on him including, bank cards, and a Virginia driver’s license.

U.S intelligence officials believe about a dozen American citizens have been going to fight with ISIS in Iraq and Syria.