Douglas McCain

Douglas McAuthur McCain (January 29, 1981 – August 23/24, 2014) was an American jihadist who was killed in Syria in late August 2014 while fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Originally from San Diego, California, McCain converted to Islam in 2004, and traveled to Syria by way of Turkey in early 2014.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Douglas McCain
Born(1981-01-29)January 29, 1981
Chicago, Illinois
Diedc. August 23, 2014(2014-08-23) (aged 33)
Syria
Cause of deathKilled By Free Syrian Army
EmployerAfrican Spice restaurant[1]
OrganizationIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant

He was believed to be the first U.S. citizen to be killed while fighting for ISIL.[7] At the time of McCain's death, there were reportedly dozens more Americans fighting in Syria for Islamic militant groups.[8] Later it was established that the first U.S. citizen killed in the Syrian Civil War was Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha in May 2014.[8] McCain attended the same high school as Troy Kastigar, who also died as an Islamic Jihadist, in 2009 in Somalia. The two may have been roommates.[9]

Biography

McCain was born in Chicago, Illinois. He moved from Chicago to Minnesota before moving again to California after high school.[1] He attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School from 1997 to 1999 before transferring to nearby Robbinsdale Armstrong High School but never graduated. Robbinsdale Cooper was also the school Troy Kastigar attended, and McCain may have lived in Kastigar's house for a while, in 2000 and 2001. He loved basketball, was a fan of the Chicago Bulls,[9] and was, at the time, an aspiring rapper.[10] McCain had a criminal record with minor charges including traffic violations, disorderly conduct, and providing false names to police officers. He converted to Islam in 2004.[1] He traveled to Europe, and by 2013 returned to San Diego where, according to one report, he worked at a mosque,[9] while another report states he worked at a Somali restaurant and frequented a mosque.[1]

According to a former classmate he was eager to talk about Islam and his conversion, but remained respectful of others' beliefs and was not radical.[9] He was active on social media, with the handle "Duale Khalid" on Twitter and "Duale ThaslaveofAllah" on Facebook.[1]

McCain was killed in fights with the Free Syrian Army in the weekend of August 23/24, 2014, and his body was found with $800 in cash and a US passport.[1]

References
  1. Koplowitz, Howard (August 26, 2014). "Who Is Douglas McAuthur McCain? American Killed Fighting For ISIS". International Business Times. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  2. Vinograd, Cassandra; Ammar Cheikh Omar (August 26, 2014). "American Douglas McAuthur McCain Dies Fighting for ISIS in Syria". NBCNews.com. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  3. Perry, Tony; Brian Bennett (August 27, 2014). "Douglas McCain: From San Diego to Syria as alleged ISIS fighter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  4. Murphy, Esme (August 27, 2014). "How Did Douglas McCain Become A Terrorist?". CBS Minnesota. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  5. McNeal, Gregory S. (June 13, 2014), "Americans Fighting For ISIS Could Face Array Of Criminal Charges", Forbes, retrieved August 27, 2014
  6. Ibrahim, Mukhtar (June 12, 2014). "Jihad in Syria lures Somalis from Minnesota". MPR. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  7. McCoy, Terrence (August 27, 2014). "How Douglas McAuthur McCain became the first American to die fighting for the Islamic State". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  8. Ray Sanchez and Greg Botelho (August 28, 2014). "US probes how Americans are lured to Syria". KPRC Houston. CNN. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  9. Forliti, Amy (August 28, 2014). "High school buddies followed similar path to jihad". MSN. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  10. Soergel, Andrew (August 27, 2014). "Douglas McAuthur McCain: Basketball Player, Rapper, Islamic State Fighter – US News". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
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