The Free Syrian Army announced this week that an American-born militant from San Diego was killed over the weekend while fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also referred to as the Islamic State. The militant’s identity, Douglas McAuthur McCain of San Diego, was confirmed by photos of his passport and his body. McCain was reportedly one of three foreign jihadists to die during the battle, but it is unclear how he was killed. A look at his social media footprint provides insight into his movement toward Syria. McCain was born in Illinois in 1981 and grew up in Minnesota, where he attended two different high schools. Between 2000 and 2008, he had several run-ins with the law and accumulated nine misdemeanor convictions. According to his Twitter feed, he “reverted” to Islam sometime during 2004. McCain moved to San Diego at some point in the past several years, and recently began working at a Somali restaurant and became known around the Masjid Nur mosque.
As early as 2010, McCain began posting militant-related images on his Facebook account, including one of a rifle and several of black Islamist militant flags. During the spring of this year, his postings took a darker turn. Referring to himself as “Duale ThaslaveofAllah” on Twitter and Facebook, he started online friendships with self-proclaimed jihadists and tweeted a full English translation of a speech by the spokesman for ISIS, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani. According to his accounts, McCain traveled to Turkey, which is a common jihadist route into Syria. On June 9, McCain wrote an alleged ISIS militant on Twitter saying, “I will be joining you guys soon.” A later post said, “I’m with the brothers now. It takes a warrior to understand a warrior. Pray for ISIS.” His final social media post occurred last Tuesday on Twitter.
MSA's Research and Intelligence Analysis (RIA) Group has been monitoring this situation closely and has identified the following implications:
The reason for McCain’s radicalization is under investigation, though his interest in jihad seems to have begun around 2010. His social media activity suggests he was likely motivated by the Syrian conflict to take action. McCain clearly stated his desire to join ISIS fighters and likely traveled through Turkey to reach Syria. It remains unclear whether McCain traveled alone, but he is reportedly the first American to die while fighting for the Islamic State. American officials believe that he is one of dozens who have traveled to Syria from the U.S. to fight with extremist groups. The case highlights the growing concern that foreign fighters may return to their homeland to commit terrorist acts.
This is the latest of several developments involving Americans and the Islamic State. ISIS released a new propaganda video earlier this month, which purportedly featured an American citizen. Last month, a video emerged featuring Moner Mohammad Abusalha, the first American to carry out a suicide attack in Syria, as he burned his U.S. passport and issued threats against the west. The threat posed by foreign fighters overseas, particularly against Americans, was further amplified with the ISIS video of American journalist James Foley’s beheading, narrated by an apparent westerner. Lastly, a 26-year-old woman was identified as a third American hostage held by ISIS this week, including Foley and another journalist, Steven Sotloff.
