ISIS: 150 Americans Now A Part Of Islamic Army And ‘Virtual Caliphate’
ISIS now reportedly has about 150 American fighters among the ranks of its Islamic State army, according to senior Congressman Ed Royce. The “virtual caliphate” being waged by ISIS and social media outlets is reportedly responsible for the increase in jihadis.
Representative Ed Royce, a Republican from California, also said that ISIS is recruiting foreigners at an “unprecedented rate.”
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Royce added, “Some 20,000 foreign fighters from more than 90 countries now make up its ranks. At least 3,400 ISIS fighters have arrived from the West and more than 150 Americans.”
ISIS now reportedly occupies an area the same size as Great Britain. The Islamic State is also believed to possess approximately $2 billion in assets, making it the most well-funded terrorist organization in history.
“We don’t have it under control. If I were to say that we had it under control, then I would say I know of every single individual traveling. I don’t. And I don’t know every person there and I don’t know everyone coming back. So it’s not even close to being under control,” FBI Assistant Director Michael Steinbeck stated in a House Homeland Security Committee hearing also held earlier this week. “Certainly I would not be truthful if I told you we know about all the returnees. We know what we know. There is a number that we don’t know about.”
Texas Republican Representative and Homeland Security Committee Chair Mike McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, deemed ISIS “barbarians.”
He added, “And I think the barbarians are at the gate. But we want to keep them outside the gate of the United States.”
In August 2014, California man Douglas McCain, 33, was killed in Syria while fighting for ISIS. McCain considered himself an inspiring rapper who converted from Christianity to Islam. After the conversion, McCain changed his name to “Duale ThaslaveofAllah” on Facebook. His Twitter biography profile said, “It’s Islam over everything.”
The troubling possibility of American ISIS fighters returning to the United States after training and fighting alongside Islamic State militants is now being voiced by government officials. Just such a scenario plays out in Dr. William Forstchen’s bestseller Day of Wrath. The gut-wrenching book details the bloody death toll which could take place at soft targets in America at the hands of just a few ISIS terror cells. Forstchen’s first big hit, One Second After, was quoted on the floor of Congress during EMP Commission hearings.
Do you think ISIS American fighters pose a threat to the United States?
[Image by Kutluhan Cucel/Getty Images]
