TEHRAN, YJC. -- The father of a US Army veteran recently arrested by the FBI for joining foreign-backed militants in Syria says his son was serving the CIA and reporting back to the Agency from the country.
Darryl Harroun says his son Eric, who
was arrested and charged with conspiracy on Wednesday for fighting with
al-Qaeda-linked militants, is extremely patriotic and would not join
militants.
"I know he was doing some work for the CIA over there,”
Darryl said. "I know for a fact that he was passing information onto the
CIA.”
However, the FBI affidavit mentioned no word of Harroun working for the CIA.
Harroun, 30, was arrested upon arriving at Dulles International
Airport in Virginia, after fighting with the notorious al-Qaeda-linked
al-Nusra Front in Syria since January.
The detained soldier has confessed to shooting 10 people and using a
rocket-propelled grenade while in Syria and being involved in downing a
Syrian chopper. He is also charged with plotting to use a weapon of
mass destruction outside the US.
Harroun has appeared in a number of videos on the Internet showing him with militants in Syria.
This is while the New York Times said in a report last week
that the CIA was cooperating with Turkey and a number of other regional
governments to supply arms to militants fighting the government in
Syria.
The report comes as the US has repeatedly voiced concern over
weapons falling into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups.
Al-Nusra was named a terrorist organization by Washington last
December, even though it has been fighting with the US-backed so-called
Free Syrian Army in its battle against Damascus.
Global security and Agencies