Overview
Hanad Abdullahi Mohallim was an American foreign fighter for ISIS who is believed to have died fighting for the terror group in late 2014.Andrea Huncar, “3 ISIS recruits from Edmonton believed killed,” CBC News, January 14, 2015, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/3-isis-recruits-from-edmonton-believed-killed-1.2901146; Laura Yuen, Mukhtar Ibrahim, and Sasha Aslanian, “Called to fight: Minnesota's ISIS recruits,” MPR News, March 25, 2015, http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/25/minnesota-isis#hmohallim. In March 2014, then-18-year-old Mohallim flew from Minessota to Turkey, making his way into Syria later that month. In late March, Mohallim confirmed to his family that he was a “border guard” in Syria. He told his family he believed he would be jailed if he returned to the United States.Laura Yuen, Mukhtar Ibrahim, and Sasha Aslanian, “From MN suburbs, they set out to join ISIS,” MPR News, March 25, 2015, http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/25/minnesota-teens-isis.
A San Diego, California native, Mohallim lived in St. Louis, Minnesota before traveling to Syria. He attended numerous high schools, but never graduated.Laura Yuen, Mukhtar Ibrahim, and Sasha Aslanian, “From MN suburbs, they set out to join ISIS,” MPR News, March 25, 2015, http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/25/minnesota-teens-isis. He reportedly attended Burnsville High School with Hamza Naj Ahmed, a fellow Minnesotan who attempted to fly to Syria in November 2014 but was apprehended by law enforcement. Ahmed was indicted in February 2015 for conspiring to materially support a foreign terrorist organization.“Hamza Naj Ahmed Indicted for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” FBI, February 19, 2015, https://www.fbi.gov/minneapolis/press-releases/2015/hamza-naj-ahmed-indicted-for-conspiring-to-provide-material-support-to-the-islamic-state-of-iraq-and-the-levant.
Mohallim grew increasingly radical on Twitter in the months leading up to his departure. His Twitter photo at one point depicted a young man sporting an Islamic-style headscarf and holding up his pointer finger, a gesture associated with ISIS.Laura Yuen, Mukhtar Ibrahim, and Sasha Aslanian, “Called to fight: Minnesota's ISIS recruits,” MPR News, March 25, 2015, http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/25/minnesota-isis#hmohallim.
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.