Up to 40 Americans who fought alongside ISIS have returned home, says congressman

Up to 40 radicalized US citizens who have fought alongside terrorists of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) have already returned to the United States and could pose a real terrorist threat, says Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.).

Of the hundred or so Americans who have traveled to the Middle East to join the Islamic State's ranks, some 40 have returned and are currently being surveilled by the FBI, Bishop said in a recent speech.

“It is not yet a threat to the homeland, but there is a concern that it could metastasize in such a way that it could become a threat,” he warned.

The lawmaker also expressed concert that jihadist fighters could clandestinely enter the United States through the porous southern border.

“We remain mindful of the possibility that an ISIL-sympathizer—perhaps motivated by online propaganda—could conduct a limited, self-directed attack here at home with no warning,” Matthew Olsen, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, said in a speech earlier this month.

He went on to say: “We have seen ISIL use a range of media to tout its military capabilities, executions of captured soldiers, and consecutive battlefield victories. More recently, the group’s supporters have sustained this momentum on social media by encouraging attacks in the US and against US interests in retaliation for our airstrikes. ISIL has used this propaganda campaign to draw foreign fighters to the group, including many from Western countries.”

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