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The Other Travelers: American Jihadists Beyond Syria and Iraq

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The Other Travelers: American Jihadists Beyond Syria and Iraq The Other Travelers: American Jihadists Beyond Syria and Iraq Seamus Hughes, Emily Blackburn, and Andrew Mines HUGHES, BLACKBURN, MINES | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM About the Program on Extremism The Program on Extremism at George Washington University p r o v i d e s analysis on issues related to violent and non-violent extremism. The Program spearheads innovative and thoughtful academic inquiry, producing empirical work that strengthens extremism research as a distinct field of study. The Program aims to develop pragmatic policy solutions that resonate with policymakers, civic leaders, and the general public. Acknowledgements This report was made possible by the hard work of the Program on Extremism’s research team. The authors wish to thank the Program’s Director Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, in addition to senior research fellow Devorah Margolin and research fellows Jon Lewis and Bennett Clifford for their tireless efforts to assist in the report’s findings. The authors also wish to thank former senior research fellow Audrey Alexander for reviewing the report at multiple stages during the writing process. The Program’s research assistants, including Amy Sinnenberg, Eric Ross, Caroline Zenkel, and Lee Ratson were instrumental in compiling data, editing, and confirming the final product. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the George Washington University. THE OTHER TRAVELERS: AMERICAN JIHADISTS BEYOND SYRIA AND IRAQ 1 HUGHES, BLACKBURN, MINES | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Background 4 Methodology 5 Preliminary Findings and Analysis 6 Conclusion 12 References 13 Appendix 1: List of Travelers 16 Appendix 2: An Abridged History of Prior American Travelers Beyond Syria and Iraq 17 THE OTHER TRAVELERS: AMERICAN JIHADISTS BEYOND SYRIA AND IRAQ 2 HUGHES, BLACKBURN, MINES | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM Executive Summary The mobilization of American foreign attracts, it remains to be seen if that fighters to Islamic State-held territory in reputational sway will continue to Syria and Iraq garnered extensive policy and hold. media attention over the last several years. Following the decline of the Islamic State’s Foreign fighter flows are notoriously territorial holdings, attention shifted to the difficult to track. Given the sensitive nature remaining foreign fighters who either of this type of research, it is likely that many attempted to return to their home countries American jihadist travelers will never be or were detained in Syria and Iraq. publicly identified. However, through open source research—including court records, Little focus has been paid, however, to the media reports, interviews with law Americans who traveled—and continue to enforcement officials, and Freedom of travel—to hotspots beyond Syria and Iraq. Information Act requests— the authors As the threat posed by jihadist groups identified 36 who attempted or successfully overseas adjusts to new geopolitical traveled overseas to join jihadist groups dynamics, taking stock of these travelers in outside of Syria and Iraq. Because the alternate theaters helps makes sense of the number of travelers and attempted travelers next possible phases of foreign fighter is relatively small, it is difficult to make mobilization. This report examines cases of sweeping statements about this category of Americans who traveled or attempted to American foreign fighters. Nonetheless, of travel to jihadist conflict theaters outside of those 36 individuals: Syria and Iraq between January 2011 and July 2019, specifically Afghanistan-Pakistan ● Ten successfully traveled to their (Af-Pak), Libya, Mali, Nigeria, the Sinai intended destinations and 26 Peninsula, Somalia, and Yemen. attempted to travel. ● The majority (74%) attempted to The report finds that: travel to three jihadist hotspots: the Af-Pak region, Somalia, and Yemen. ● Despite the Islamic State’s and al- ● While al-Qaeda and its affiliates Qaeda's calls for foreign jihadists to drew 79% of known American travel to join a multitude of local travelers before the rise of the affiliates, the majority of American Islamic State, after 2014 the Islamic jihadist travelers gravitated to just State and its affiliates drew 73% of three hotspots outside Syria and all known American travelers. Iraq ● Travelers who succeeded in reaching ● American jihadist travelers their target destinations received continued to join the same alternate significantly longer sentences (273 theaters in the years leading up to, months on average) than those who during, and after the loss of territory were unsuccessful (186 months on by the Islamic State in Iraq and average). Syria. ● The average age was 23.5 years-old ● While the Islamic State has eclipsed and the vast majority were men, with al-Qaeda in the number of only one woman identified. American jihadist travelers it THE OTHER TRAVELERS: AMERICAN JIHADISTS BEYOND SYRIA AND IRAQ 3 HUGHES, BLACKBURN, MINES | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM Background Since 2011, tens of thousands of individuals jihadist travelers, other hotspots like Libya from over 120 countries traveled to join and Af-Pak began to receive an increasing militant groups in Syria and Iraq, at least number of foreign jihadist travelers. 7,000 of whom are believed to have originated from Western countries.i The post-2011 conflicts in Syria and Iraq Following the declaration of an Islamic drew one of the largest mobilizations of caliphate in June 2014, the majority of these jihadist foreign fighters in history in terms recruits joined the Islamic State (IS).ii In the of both scale and scope. However, an American context, the Federal Bureau of exclusive focus on the theaters of Syria and Investigation (FBI) estimates that as many Iraq precludes insights into jihadist foreign as 300 Americans have either traveled or fighter mobilizations to other battlefields. attempted to travel to Syria or Iraq during Moreover, the Islamic State is not the only this period to join militant groups. Within organization that attracted jihadist this group, the Program on Extremism was travelers; during the same time period, al- able to publicly identify 82 Americans who Qaeda (AQ) and its affiliates continued to successfully traveled to Syria or Iraq.iii garner a steady stream of American and other Western recruits. To help remedy In the wake of IS’ territorial losses in Syria these deficits, this report seeks to highlight and Iraq starting as early as 2015, the American jihadist travelers who sought out numbers of foreign fighters traveling to the alternate conflict theaters beyond Syria and region tapered off.iv Between 2015 and 2016, Iraq. the Islamic State lost key territories along the Turkish-Syrian border that were vital for This report uses the term “American jihadist foreign fighter intake and processing. travelers” to refer to individuals with a Subsequently, the group lost control of nexus to the U.S. who traveled overseas to Raqqa and Mosul, its major strongholds in participate in jihadist groups.v The term Syria and Iraq, respectively. In addition, IS “travelers,” as opposed to “foreign fighters,” began to declare a number of affiliate assumes that not all individuals who travel “provinces” in several global conflict abroad to join insurgencies choose to fight. hotspots, including Yemen, the Rather, some of these individuals assume Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) region, logistical, recruitment, and/or familial roles Libya, and Somalia, among others. As a within these organizations. For example, in result, IS “core” territory in Syria and Iraq many cases women do not fight, but was only one of several theaters that jihadist participate within jihadist groups in non- foreign fighters from the United States combat roles.vi As such, this definition is attempted to join. With the decline of Syria more inclusive of the multivalent roles and Iraq as the preeminent destinations for played by foreign jihadist affiliates. THE OTHER TRAVELERS: AMERICAN JIHADISTS BEYOND SYRIA AND IRAQ 4 HUGHES, BLACKBURN, MINES | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM Methodology For this report, the authors compiled a abroad. Those who left the United States dataset encompassing all known cases of and arrived at their intended destination U.S. individuals charged, arrested, or qualify as having successfully traveled convicted for attempting or successfully abroad. Individuals classified as having traveling abroad to join jihadist unsuccessfully traveled abroad made organizations (excluding the region of Syria substantial progress in their efforts to and Iraq) between January 2011 and July travel, but failed to reach their intended 2019. This project continues the work destination either because they were carried out by the Program on Extremism prevented from leaving the United States or over the last few years examining American did not complete their journey. jihadists.vii Jihadist group associations were The Program’s datasets draw on thousands determined based on evidence in the of pages of federal court filings, FOIA individuals’ associated court documents. requests and in-person interviews with U.S. Declared pledges of allegiance, prosecutors, national security officials, and conversations with FBI undercover returned travelers and their families. In employees and confidential human sources, total, this research found 36 American and other indicators in these documents jihadists who successfully traveled or provided a holistic picture needed to attempted to travel to Af-Pak, the Sinai determine group affiliation. Information
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