Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha; the American jihadist

The Washington Post (by way of the Stars & Stripes) takes a look at the jihad of Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, the son of a Palestinian father and an American mother who converted to Islam. Abu-Salha grew up in Florida and made several trips to the Middle East – during the last trip, he blew himself up in a truck bomb aimed at a restaurant frequented by Syrian soldiers. Border security had an opportunity to stop his personal jihad after his second-to-the-last trip;

As the 22-year-old Florida native made his way through a U.S. border inspection, officers pulled him aside for additional screening and searched his belongings. They called his mother in Vero Beach, Fla., to check on his claim that he had merely been visiting relatives in the Middle East. But when she vouched for him, U.S. officials said, Moner Mohammad Abusalha was waved through without any further scrutiny or perceived need to notify the FBI that he was back in the United States.

For six months, Abu-Salha wandered around the country until he made his final journey and met his fateful end.

His death May 25 was accompanied by the release of a menacing video. “You think you are safe where you are in America,” he said, threatening his own country and a half-dozen others. “You are not safe.”

Apparently not because the folks protecting our borders take a Muslim’s mother words as gospel. The kid had sneaked off from his family during that rip. He left his car abandoned as he began his journey and the mother didn’t think to mention that to authorities. By the time he exploded, Abu-Salha was on the no-fly list, but he blowed up real good.

It makes me wonder how many others are floating around the country looking for a place to explode. there’s much more about the rambunctious youngster at the link, so you should read the whole thing.

Category: Terror War