US confirms: Suicide bomber in Syria was American

Al-Qaeda-linked group was first to tweet about ‘Abu Hurayra the American’ setting off a truck bomb outside a Syrian troop hangout

The State Department confirmed that Syrian suicide bomber Abu Hurayra al-Amriki was an American citizen.

Syrian opposition officials had previously said that al-Amriki was an American who was responsible for a May 25 truck bombing outside a restaurant that served as a gathering place for Syrian government soldiers.

The first reports of the incident came on Tuesday from the al-Nusra Front’s Twitter page, which referred to “Abu Hurayra al-Amriki,” or Abu Hurayra the American. “Abu Hurayra al-Amriki performed a martyrdom operation in Idlib, Jabal al-Arba’een. May Allah accept him,” the al-Qaeda linked group tweeted out.

Photos from the group show the young man wearing a suicide vest and sitting on the ground. Another tweet shows a smiling, bearded young man holding a kitten.

But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki’s confirmation Friday was the first time the US government had acknowledged he was, in fact, an American.