An American citizen identified as Mohamed Jamal Khweis, who was captured by the Kurdish military forces and described as an ISIS defector, says that he regrets having joined ISIS forces because it was hard to live in Mosul. Now, he wants to go back to the United States.
The 26-year-old man said in an interview to Kurdistan 24 that ISIS militants are not “good Muslims.” He shared his experience of joining the terrorist organization, saying that he left for Europe in December and headed to Turkey, where he met an Iraqi girl who took him to Syria.
Then, he was transferred to Mosul, a region that was seized by ISIS in 2014, alongside other 10 men, said a report published by Kurdistan 24. In Mosul, the group had to learn the religion and the sharia, which is the religious legal system governing the members of the Islamic faith.
However, Khweis, an American-born son of Palestinian immigrants, did not complete the whole sharia because he did not “agree” with the Islamic State ideology. As a result, he wanted to escape from Mosul. According to the Kurds, he is an ISIS fighter, however, he was not apparently implied in combat activities.
He described his daily activities as praying, eating and learning about religion for eight hours per day, adding that it was “hard” to live in Mosul, since ISIS’ way of living does not resemble the Western countries style, and “there’s no smoking.”
Jail in the United States is still a possibility
“I made a bad decision to go with the girl and go to Mosul. At the time, I made a decision to go because I wasn’t thinking straight, and on the way there I regretted — I wanted to go back,” he said to Kurdistan 24.
After one month in Mosul, a city that is completely ruled by ISIS, he found a way to go to the Turkish border and looked for Kurds, thinking that they could take him to the United States. Earlier this week, the Kurds announced his surrender, said Kurdistan 24 News on Friday.
Kamal Khweis sent a message to Americans, saying that members of “Daesh, ISIS, ISIL don’t represent the religion.” However, it is not clear if he could enjoy freedom in the United States territory.
Last year, the FBI accused Abid Khan of “conspiracy and attempting to provide material to support ISIS,” after he almost joined the Islamic State. It was reported that he took a flight to Istanbul in order to join ISIS. However, before going to Syria he called his mom and returned to the United States. Now, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted.
Source: Kurdistan 24