Overview
Abdirahmaan Muhumed was a Somali-American fighting with ISIS. In 2013, Muhumed left his home in Minnesota to join the terrorist group in Syria. It is believed that Muhumed died in an ISIS battle in August 2014, reportedly the same battle that killed fellow U.S. citizen and ISIS extremist Douglas McCain.Michael Zenine, “Somali-American who died fighting for ISIS cleaned planes for Delta Airlines at Minneapolis airport before he joined terrorist group,” Daily Mail (London), September 3, 2014, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2742206/Somali-American-died-fighting-ISIS-cleaned-planes-Delta-Airlines-Minneapolis-airport-joined-terrorist-group.html.
Before moving to Syria, Muhumed worked cleaning jetliners for Delta Airlines at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.Michael Zenine, “Somali-American who died fighting for ISIS cleaned planes for Delta Airlines at Minneapolis airport before he joined terrorist group,” Daily Mail (London), September 3, 2014, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2742206/Somali-American-died-fighting-ISIS-cleaned-planes-Delta-Airlines-Minneapolis-airport-joined-terrorist-group.html. While with ISIS, Muhumed posted a series of extremist messages to Facebook, including a photo of himself carrying the Qu’ran in one hand and a rifle in the other alongside the caption “Shaam,” the Islamic term for greater Syria.Laura Collins, “‘Jihad Cool’: The young Americans lured to fight for ISIS militants with rap videos, adventurism and first hand accounts of the ‘fun’ of guerrilla war,” Daily Mail (London), June 19, 2014, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2661727/Jihad-Cool-The-young-Americans-lured-fight-ISIS-militants-rap-videos-adventurism-hand-accounts-fun-guerrilla-war.html. In one particularly gruesome image from May 2013, the head of a dead man could be seen held up to the camera with his mouth slightly open.Laura Collins, “‘Jihad Cool’: The young Americans lured to fight for ISIS militants with rap videos, adventurism and first hand accounts of the ‘fun’ of guerrilla war,” Daily Mail (London), June 19, 2014, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2661727/Jihad-Cool-The-young-Americans-lured-fight-ISIS-militants-rap-videos-adventurism-hand-accounts-fun-guerrilla-war.html.
Muhumed was 29-years-old by the time of his reported death.Michael Zenine, “Somali-American who died fighting for ISIS cleaned planes for Delta Airlines at Minneapolis airport before he joined terrorist group,” Daily Mail (London), September 3, 2014, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2742206/Somali-American-died-fighting-ISIS-cleaned-planes-Delta-Airlines-Minneapolis-airport-joined-terrorist-group.html. He left behind nine children in Minnesota.
Picture of Muhumed fighting with ISIS. While in Syria, Muhumed was interviewed by MPR News reporter Mukhtar Ibrahim.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- ISIS
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
- Position(s):
- Foreign fighter
ISIS is a violent jihadist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group has declared wilayas (provinces) in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North Caucasus. ISIS has also waged attacks in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait.
History
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.