1st American suicide bomber in Syria returned to US after training

The first confirmed American suicide bomber in the Syrian Civil War was able to return to the United States for months before he carried out his final deadly mission on behalf of the al-Qaida aligned Nusra Front.

The New York Times reports that the bomber was known as Moner Mohammad Abusalha among his jihadi friends. Most worrying is that it appears Abusalha was able to reenter the United States after he had received training in a camp run by the Nusra Front.

A video released by the Nusra Front shows Abusalha destroying his passport on his return to Syria. He also describes how he walked five miles to the airport in the United States and landed in Turkey with just enough money for a Turkish visa, and nothing more. He does not elaborate on how he eventually made it to Syria from Turkey without any money.

The Times reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security were aware of Abusalha's first trip to Syria, but they did not know he received training at a camp operated by the Nusra Front.

Citing a law enforcement official, the Times also says that there was only a short window of time between law enforcement learning of Abusalha's ultimate plan of a suicide bombing, and his carrying it out.

The security establishment estimates there are around 1,000 fighters of Western extraction in Syria and Iraq. Of those, 100 are believed to be Americans.

The video ends with Abusalha's goodbyes to his family and a cut to the explosion that took Abusalha's life in the Syrian desert. 

The ability for Abusalha to reenter the United States shows the very real nature of the threat posed by Westerners who have gone to fought in the Syrian Civil War. The Western security establishment has recently been sounding warnings about these people. The fact it is one of their central concerns at the moment, yet Abusalha was still able to enter the United States, is disconcerting.