American al Qaeda member has harsh words for ISIS

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published 29 June 2015

An online al Qaeda publication has published an interview purportedly conducted with the late Adam Gadahn, an American citizen who had sharp words for the Islamic State.

In an interview spanning more than 80 pages believed to have taken place last fall, Gadahn discussed growing up in California and how he came to join al Qaeda. He spoke at length about ISIS, praising the group for its "considerable strength and prowess...in military terms," but adding that he condemned the "crimes it has committed against Muslims," saying they "cannot simply be overlooked or forgotten with time, because in Islam there is no statute of limitations. ... All of us used to be sympathetic to varying degrees towards the Islamic State of Iraq — despite its mistakes — when it was seen as a weak and oppressed force valiantly fighting brutal tyrannies. But now that it has become clear that it has — unfortunately — adopted some of the traits, methods, and tactics of those same tyrannies, it no longer holds the same place in our hearts that it did once upon a time."

He also chastised ISIS for the execution of British humanitarian Alan Henning. "Alan Henning didn't go to Syria as a soldier or spy," he said. "He went to Syria as a member of a Muslim aid convoy to distribute relief supplies to displaced and needy Syrians. But rather than thank him, some interlopers rewarded him first by kidnapping him and then by slaughtering him on camera." Gadahn was killed in January during an American counter-terrorism operation. U.S. officials said they did not know that Gadahn was at the targeted location, ABC News reports.