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| Details Emerge About American Suicide Bomber in Syria | Details Emerge About American Suicide Bomber in Syria |
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| WASHINGTON — A United States citizen who blew himself up in a suicide attack in Syria on Sunday was of Middle Eastern descent and in his 20s, and grew up in Florida, two senior law enforcement officials said. The American authorities became aware of his presence in Syria in the past year. | WASHINGTON — A United States citizen who blew himself up in a suicide attack in Syria on Sunday was of Middle Eastern descent and in his 20s, and grew up in Florida, two senior law enforcement officials said. The American authorities became aware of his presence in Syria in the past year. |
| The man, who has been identified in jihadist social media by the nom de guerre Abu Huraira al-Amriki, helped carry out a bombing involving a large truck on Sunday in the northern province of Idlib. United States officials said they believed it was the first time an American had been involved in a suicide attack in Syria. | The man, who has been identified in jihadist social media by the nom de guerre Abu Huraira al-Amriki, helped carry out a bombing involving a large truck on Sunday in the northern province of Idlib. United States officials said they believed it was the first time an American had been involved in a suicide attack in Syria. |
| One senior law enforcement official said the authorities believed the attack occurred during the second visit Abu Huraira made to Syria to fight alongside Islamist militants who are battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad. He had been in Syria for about a year on this trip, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of a continuing investigation into the episode. | |
| News of the suicide attack surfaced on Tuesday in Twitter messages from the Nusra Front, an Islamist extremist group in Syria aligned with Al Qaeda. | News of the suicide attack surfaced on Tuesday in Twitter messages from the Nusra Front, an Islamist extremist group in Syria aligned with Al Qaeda. |
| American officials have not made public Abu Huraira’s real name. His roots in Florida were first reported Thursday night by CNN, which also said that investigators were interviewing family members. | American officials have not made public Abu Huraira’s real name. His roots in Florida were first reported Thursday night by CNN, which also said that investigators were interviewing family members. |
| A Syrian fighter from the Nusra Front recalled Abu Huraira as an Arab-American who spoke Arabic poorly but was dedicated to the jihadist cause. | A Syrian fighter from the Nusra Front recalled Abu Huraira as an Arab-American who spoke Arabic poorly but was dedicated to the jihadist cause. |
| “He was a generous, brave, tough man, always on the front lines in battles,” said the fighter, who identified himself by a nom de guerre, Abu Abdulrahman, and said that he was currently in Idlib Province, where Abu Huraira reportedly died. | “He was a generous, brave, tough man, always on the front lines in battles,” said the fighter, who identified himself by a nom de guerre, Abu Abdulrahman, and said that he was currently in Idlib Province, where Abu Huraira reportedly died. |
| “When his turn came up” to carry out a suicide bombing, Abu Huraira “was very happy, because he will meet his God after that,” Abu Abdulrahman said via Facebook. | “When his turn came up” to carry out a suicide bombing, Abu Huraira “was very happy, because he will meet his God after that,” Abu Abdulrahman said via Facebook. |
| Ahmed Assi, an activist who works for Suqour al-Sham, a rebel group that fights alongside the Nusra Front, said by phone from Turkey that he had seen the American in Syria about a week before. | Ahmed Assi, an activist who works for Suqour al-Sham, a rebel group that fights alongside the Nusra Front, said by phone from Turkey that he had seen the American in Syria about a week before. |
| Mr. Assi said that he did not know Abu Huraira’s real name, but that he spoke broken Arabic and had converted to Islam. | Mr. Assi said that he did not know Abu Huraira’s real name, but that he spoke broken Arabic and had converted to Islam. |
| He and other activists in the area said that fighters with the Nusra Front tended to keep to themselves and stay away from the news media, making it hard for others to gather information about them. | He and other activists in the area said that fighters with the Nusra Front tended to keep to themselves and stay away from the news media, making it hard for others to gather information about them. |
| “The Nusra Front is not very interested in media except for releasing what they want to say,” Mr. Assi said. | “The Nusra Front is not very interested in media except for releasing what they want to say,” Mr. Assi said. |
| A statement posted online by the Nusra Front said that Abu Huraira had been one of four suicide bombers sent to open a rebel assault on government forces near the city of Ariha in northern Syria. | A statement posted online by the Nusra Front said that Abu Huraira had been one of four suicide bombers sent to open a rebel assault on government forces near the city of Ariha in northern Syria. |
| On Sunday morning, the statement said, Abu Huraira drove a vehicle loaded with 16 tons of explosives to hit a mountaintop restaurant where government forces were based. He was followed by three other bombers. Two of them also blew themselves up, and one managed to park his vehicle and retreat before the explosives detonated. | On Sunday morning, the statement said, Abu Huraira drove a vehicle loaded with 16 tons of explosives to hit a mountaintop restaurant where government forces were based. He was followed by three other bombers. Two of them also blew themselves up, and one managed to park his vehicle and retreat before the explosives detonated. |
| Intelligence and law enforcement officials said Friday that it was easy for American citizens to get in and out of Syria, and that many traveled there for humanitarian reasons, presenting a challenge in determining who might be planning to carry out terror attacks in the United States. | Intelligence and law enforcement officials said Friday that it was easy for American citizens to get in and out of Syria, and that many traveled there for humanitarian reasons, presenting a challenge in determining who might be planning to carry out terror attacks in the United States. |
| “It’s trying to identify those individuals who have violent intent,” said Andrew McCabe, a senior F.B.I. official. “That, quite frankly, is not easy.” | “It’s trying to identify those individuals who have violent intent,” said Andrew McCabe, a senior F.B.I. official. “That, quite frankly, is not easy.” |
| Mr. McCabe, speaking at a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that Americans who had traveled to Syria came from diverse backgrounds and upbringings. | Mr. McCabe, speaking at a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that Americans who had traveled to Syria came from diverse backgrounds and upbringings. |
| “When you put them together, they look like America,” he said. | “When you put them together, they look like America,” he said. |
| Intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that about 100 Americans have traveled to Syria since the civil war there began, mainly to fight for one of the hundreds of rebel groups combating the Assad government. American and European officials have expressed mounting fears that battle-hardened fighters returning from Syria could carry out attacks back home. | Intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that about 100 Americans have traveled to Syria since the civil war there began, mainly to fight for one of the hundreds of rebel groups combating the Assad government. American and European officials have expressed mounting fears that battle-hardened fighters returning from Syria could carry out attacks back home. |
| Islamist extremist groups in Syria with ties to Al Qaeda have been trying to identify Americans and other Westerners who have traveled there, and recruit and train them to carry out attacks when they return home, according to senior American intelligence and counterterrorism officials. The civil war in Syria, now in its fourth year, has become a magnet for Westerners seeking to fight with the rebels. | Islamist extremist groups in Syria with ties to Al Qaeda have been trying to identify Americans and other Westerners who have traveled there, and recruit and train them to carry out attacks when they return home, according to senior American intelligence and counterterrorism officials. The civil war in Syria, now in its fourth year, has become a magnet for Westerners seeking to fight with the rebels. |
| The F.B.I., the C.I.A., the National Counterterrorism Center and the Homeland Security Department recently created a special team of analysts to try to prevent American jihadists from returning home undetected. | The F.B.I., the C.I.A., the National Counterterrorism Center and the Homeland Security Department recently created a special team of analysts to try to prevent American jihadists from returning home undetected. |
| A photograph circulating on jihadist social media accounts this week showed a smiling young man who was said to be the bomber. He had a beard and was holding a cat. | A photograph circulating on jihadist social media accounts this week showed a smiling young man who was said to be the bomber. He had a beard and was holding a cat. |
| Activists also posted a video that was said to show the attack. In it, rebels load what appear to be tank shells into a large vehicle armored with metal plates, and there is a large explosion after the vehicle drives down a road. | Activists also posted a video that was said to show the attack. In it, rebels load what appear to be tank shells into a large vehicle armored with metal plates, and there is a large explosion after the vehicle drives down a road. |
| Most of the Americans who have traveled to Syria are still there, officials said, although a few have died on the battlefield. Nicole Lynn Mansfield, 33, of Flint, Mich., a convert to Islam, was killed in May 2013 while with Syrian rebels in Idlib Province. | Most of the Americans who have traveled to Syria are still there, officials said, although a few have died on the battlefield. Nicole Lynn Mansfield, 33, of Flint, Mich., a convert to Islam, was killed in May 2013 while with Syrian rebels in Idlib Province. |