Former US soldier arrested for terrorism in Syria

FBI agents have arrested a former US soldier accused of fighting alongside Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, CNN has reported. Eric Harroun, who was detained at a hotel near Washington DC’s Dulles airport on Friday, is charged with firing a weapon on behalf of the militant Islamist group, now fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Harroun entered Syria in January 2013, reportedly to fight the Assad regime. Jabhat al-Nusra has been classed as a terrorist organisation by the Obama administration. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Jabhat al-Nusra is an alias for the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) group.