Americans linked to ISIS

It's unclear how many Americans have been caught attempting to join or help ISIS, but National Intelligence Director James Clapper has said 180 Americans have tried to go fight in Syria. Experts say most of them are disillusioned young people trying to find purpose or make their mark. While that's largely true, there are outliers. Below are details about some of the cases that have been made public.

Age distribution

Gender distribution

Distribution by state

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NameDonald Morgan

Ageunknown

Genderm

LocationSalisbury, North Carolina

U.S. authorities arrested an American man returning from overseas who they say is a sympathizer of the terrorist group ISIS. Morgan was arrested on August 2 on arrival at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport from Frankfurt, Germany, according to federal court documents.

NameMufid Elfgeeh

Age30

Genderm

LocationRochester, New York

A man who owns an upstate New York food store funded ISIS, tried to send jihadists to Syria to fight with the terrorist group and plotted to do some killing himself -- by gunning down U.S. troops who had served in Iraq -- federal authorities alleged in September 2014. Elfgeeh, 30, was arrested for trying "to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization" (namely, ISIS), one count of attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States, two counts of having an unregistered firearm silencer and one for possessing guns or silencers "in furtherance of a crime of violence."

NameUnknown

Age19

Genderf

LocationSt. Paul, Minnesota

In a separate case, a 19-year-old American Somali woman from St. Paul snuck away from her parents on August 25 saying she was going to a bridal shower. Instead, she flew to Turkey and joined IS in Syria. The St. Paul woman is the first case of an area female joining ISIS that has been made public, although her family has asked for her name to be kept private because it fears retaliation from Islamists. The St. Paul woman is highly likely to have been recruited by ISIS through Islamist sympathizers in the United States, rather than joining the group on her own, Somali leaders said.

NameDouglas McCain

Age33

Genderm

LocationNew Hope, Minnesota

An American man in Syria while fighting for ISIS, the latest evidence of the reach of a terror group that's become increasingly powerful and feared in the eyes of Americans. Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, died in a battle between rival extremist groups in the suburbs of Aleppo, Syria's once-bustling commercial capital and largest city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict. The man's uncle, Ken McCain, said that his nephew had gone to fight as a jihadi and that the U.S. State Department told the family in August 2014 about the death.

NameMichael Todd Wolfe

Age23

Genderm

LocationAustin, Texas

Arrested at George H.W. Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport before a flight to Europe, Wolfe was charged in June 2014 "with attempting to provide material support to terrorists," authorities said. He "planned to travel to the Middle East to provide his services to radical groups engaged in armed conflict in Syria," according to a complaint.

NameAbdullah Yusuf

Age18

Genderm

LocationInver Grove Heights, Minnesota

The 18-year-old from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, pleaded guilty at a Minneapolis federal court to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS. Yusuf was stopped by the FBI from boarding a flight to Turkey from Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport in May. Yusuf and another man, Abdi Nur, were charged in late November with conspiring to aid ISIS.

NameShannon Maureen Conley

Age19

Genderf

LocationArvada, Colorado

Conley's plan to join ISIS and serve as a nurse at a jihadist camp ended in September 2014 with a guilty plea on a terror charge in a Colorado federal court. Arrested the previous April, the 19-year-old was at Denver International Airport about to embark on a journey to Germany and eventually to an ISIS camp near the Turkish border. She told investigators she was going to Turkey to await word from her suitor, an ISIS member she met on the Internet, whom she planned to marry.

NameChristopher Cornell

Age20

Genderm

LocationCincinnati, Ohio

The Cincinnati 20-year-old was on the FBI's radar for months as he posted about violent jihad on social media. The feds said they arrested him before he could hatch his alleged plot to set off a bomb at the U.S. Capitol and shoot evacuees as they fled. Cornell allegedly told an informant he had been in contact with people overseas, and that he had aligned himself with ISIS. The attack, according to the complaint, would be a way of supporting the extremist group.

NameAhmad Abousamra

Age33

Genderm

LocationStoughton, Massachusetts

The man was first placed on the FBI terror list for 2009 crimes but since has been suspected of joining ISIS, officials said. He's fluent in both English and Arabic, and if his college degree in computers is any indication, he has a way with technology. Then there's his interest in radical Islam. Put it all together, and authorities said former Boston resident and U.S. citizen Ahmad Abousamra could be a good fit inside the ISIS social media machine that's become renowned in recent weeks for spewing brutal propaganda across social media.

NameMoner Mohammad Abu-Salha

Age22

Genderm

LocationVero Beach, Florida

The son of a Palestinian father and Italian-American mother, the 22-year-old from Vero Beach, Florida, is believed to be the first American suicide bomber to die in Syria. The former high school football player killed himself in May 2014 when he drove a truck full of explosives into a Syrian army position and detonated it, U.S. officials said.

NameUnidentified teen

Ageminor

Genderf

LocationDenver, Colorado, area

One of three teenage girls who set out from a Denver suburb apparently bound for Syria to join extremists were sent home to their parents after they were stopped in Germany, U.S. officials said. The teens -- two sisters of Somali descent and a friend whose family is Sudanese, according to a Denver community leader -- were detained when their flight landed in Frankfurt in October 2014 after the FBI flagged their passports.

NameUnidentified teen

Ageminor

Genderf

LocationDenver, Colorado, area

One of three teenage girls who set out from a Denver suburb apparently bound for Syria to join extremists were sent home to their parents after they were stopped in Germany, U.S. officials said. The teens -- two sisters of Somali descent and a friend whose family is Sudanese, according to a Denver community leader -- were detained when their flight landed in Frankfurt in October 2014 after the FBI flagged their passports.

NameUnidentified teen

Ageminor

Genderf

LocationDenver, Colorado, area

One of three teenage girls who set out from a Denver suburb apparently bound for Syria to join extremists were sent home to their parents after they were stopped in Germany, U.S. officials said. The teens -- two sisters of Somali descent and a friend whose family is Sudanese, according to a Denver community leader -- were detained when their flight landed in Frankfurt in October 2014 after the FBI flagged their passports.

NameAdam Dandach

Age21

Genderm

LocationOrange, California

The 21-year-old California man was arrested last summer, but was indicted in July 2014. The FBI said he attempted to offer himself and material support to work under the direction and control of ISIS. His arraignment is scheduled for later this month.

NameUnidentified Virginia student

Age17

Genderunknown

LocationWashington suburb

The 17-year-old Virginia student has been charged with helping recruit for ISIS, federal law enforcement officials said in March 2015. The teen lives in a suburb of Washington and is accused of helping a slightly older adult travel to Syria. The adult is believed to have joined ISIS there. The student is also accused of distributing ISIS messages.

NameAbror Habibov

Age30

Genderm

LocationNew York CIty (arrested in Jacksonville, FL)

Habibov and two other men are accused by the federal government of attempting to join ISIS and of fostering plans to kill the President and shoot law enforcement officers. The three men face charges that include attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Habibov, 30, was in the United States legally, but overstayed his visa, police said.

NameAkhror Saidakhmetov

Age19

Genderm

LocationNew York City

Arrested in February in New York and Florida, they are accused by the federal government of attempting to join ISIS and of fostering plans to kill the president and shoot law enforcement officers. The three men face charges that include attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Saidakhmetov had permanent resident status.

NameAbdurasul Juraboev

Age24

Genderm

LocationNew York City

Arrested in February in New York and Florida, they are accused by the federal government of attempting to join ISIS and of fostering plans to kill the President and shoot law enforcement officers. The three men face charges that include attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Juraboev had permanent resident status.

NameAbdi Nur

Age20

Genderm

LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota

The 20-year-old was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Nur "conspired to join ISIL and travel from Minnesota to the Middle East to engage in a campaign of terror," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin said in November 2014, using another acronym for ISIS.

NameMohammed Hamzah Khan

Age19

Genderm

LocationChicago, Illinois

Kahn was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago in October. The 19-year-old is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. In a letter to his parents, Kahn wrote that he was leaving the United States and on the way to join ISIS, court documents said.

NameHasan Edmonds

Age22

Genderm

LocationChicago, Illinois

Spc. Hasan Edmonds, 22, was arrested in March 2015 at Chicago Midway International Airport while attempting to travel to Egypt to eventually join ISIS, according to Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and other federal officials said.

Name Jonas "Yunus" Edmonds

Age29

Genderm

LocationAurora, Illinois

Jonas "Yunus" Edmonds, 29, was arrested at his home in Aurora in connection with an alleged plot to carry out an armed attack on an unspecified U.S. military facility in northern Illinois where his cousin, Hasan Edmonds, had been training.

NameAbdirahman Sheik Mohamud

Age23

Genderm

LocationColumbus, Ohio

Charged with one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to terrorists, one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and one count of making false statements to the FBI in an indictment returned in the Southern District of Ohio. According to the indictment, Mohamud stated that, after arriving in Syria, he obtained training from a group in shooting weapons, breaking into houses, explosives and hand-to-hand combat. Mohamed also stated that, after completing this training, he was instructed by a cleric in the organization to return to the United States and commit an act of terrorism.

NameZacharia Yusuf Abdurahman

Age19

Genderm

LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

NameAdnan Farah

Age19

Genderm

LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

NameHanad Mustafe Musse

Age19

Genderm

LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

NameGuled Ali Omar

Age20

Genderm

LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

NameAbdirahman Yasin Daud

Age21

Genderm

LocationSan Diego, California

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

NameMohamed Abdihamid Farah

Age21

Genderm

LocationSan Diego, California

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

NameUnknown

Age16

Genderm

LocationYork County, South Carolina

A South Carolina teen pleaded guilty April 22, 2015, to plotting an attack on a U.S. military base before attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS, CNN affiliate WBTV reported. Police, who found an ISIS flag in the teen's bedroom while executing a search warrant, said the teen acknowledged that he and a person from North Carolina had plotted to rob a gun store so they could attack a military installation in retaliation for U.S. military airstrikes on ISIS.

NameHoda Muthana

Age20

Genderf

LocationHoover, Alabama

After Buzzfeed published an April 17, 2015, interview with the woman, who said she was in Raqqa, family members and community leaders confirmed to CNN affiliate that Hoda Muthana had indeed left her family to join ISIS. In March, she posted a photo of four passports to Twitter with the tweet, "Bonfire soon, no need for these anymore." Jordan Laporta, who graduated high school with Muthana, told CNN she was a bright and quiet girl who wore a hijab and kept to herself and her small group of friends. He said he was surprised to learn she was a jihadi, and asked about he devotion to Islam, he said he never spoke to her about it.