SINJAR, Iraq, March 18 (UPI) — A Virginia man who said he joined the Islamic State and later surrendered to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, said he regrets working for the terror group.
Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 26, said he traveled to Turkey where he met a woman before going to the IS-held city of Mosul, Iraq. Khweis worked for the militant group, also known as ISIS,ISIL and Daesh, before surrendering to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. He was there for about a month.
“I made a bad decision to go to Mosul. At the time I made the decision, I was not thinking straight. On the way there I regretted, and I wanted to go back home after things didn’t work out and saw myself living in such an environment,” he told Kurdistan24 news agency.
Kurdish forces apprehended Khweis on Monday near Sinjar “for attempting to enter the Kurdistan region from the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul.”
“We are in dialogue with our U.S. counterparts and authorities about the individual and case,” the Kurdish council said. “He is in the Kurdistan region being questioned by relevant security authorities and is provided the care afforded to him under international and local law.”
The State Department said it is aware of Khweis’ alleged surrender. It is unclear if the United States will seek custody of Khweis.
