Ahmad Abousamra

Ahmad Abousamra (born 1981) is a person on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list for allegedly attempting to obtain military training in his trips to Yemen and Pakistan for the purpose of killing American soldiers overseas.

Early Life and Education

Ahmad Abousamra is a dual citizen who was born in France in 1981. Abousamra's father, Abdul Badi Abousamra, was a prominent Boston endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Muslim activist. He grew up in the Boston suburb of Stoughton. He attended Xaverian Brothers Catholic High School in Westwood up until his senior year when he transferred to Stoughton High and graduated in 1999. In 2006, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston with a Degree in Computer Science.

Al-Qaeda

In 2004, he traveled to Iraq to join Al-Qaeda to fight U.S. soldiers. With his European language ability and computer skills, he was instead recruited to the groups 'media wing.' He returned to the U.S. in 2006 where he was questioned by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Indictment

He was indicted for his arrest on November 5, 2009. He is currently wanted by the FBI for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists in connection with Al-Qaeda, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, conspiracy, and false statements. As of 2014, he was believed to be living in Syria with his wife and at least one child, according to authorities who are offering a USD 50,000 reward for tips leading to his arrest.

Abousamra was reported September 2014 to be running the social media operation for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIS and ISIL), a designated terrorist organization. That operation is reportedly helping to attract thousands of fighters to ISIS from across the world - including from the U.S., Britain and Canada.