National Security

Iranian Refugee Living In Maine Killed While Fighting For Islamic State

Kerry Picket Political Reporter
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Court documents show that an Iranian man who arrived in Maine as a refugee in 2009 was killed in Lebanon last year fighting for the Islamic State, the Portland Press Herald reported.

According to The Associated Press, Adnan Fazeli, a 38-year-old who was a resident of Freeport, reportedly became radicalized while living in the United States. The FBI first investigated Fazeli after he left his Portland auto dealership job and flew to Turkey in August 2013, but he never returned.

He later died in battle in January 2015 while fighting alongside 150 Islamic State jihadists.

Additionally, The Boston Herald reported that Fazeli collected food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, until 2013 when he left to go fight for ISIS.

Fazeli’s family found out what happened to Fazeli when he contacted his wife while still outside of the United States, Fazeli’s 25-year-old nephew Ebrahim Fazeli said, noting he was concerned about his aunt and their three children, so he contacted authorities about his uncle.

“I wanted to protect them from him,” Ebrahim told the AP. “It was very clear to me that they weren’t important to him.”

 

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