NYC college student died fighting with ISIS in Syria

ByMark Crudele WABC logo
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
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Federal prosecutors revealed in court documents that a 24-year-old New York City college student, who abruptly traveled abroad to fight with ISIS, was killed in combat in Syria last year.

The 24-year-old student was previously identified in court documents only as "Samy," an unindicted co conspirator of an Arizona man charged in a material support case. That man, Ahmed Mohammed el Gammal, traveled to NYC, where Samy was attending college.

Samy -- now identified as Samy Mohammed El-Goarany -- abruptly traveled to Turkey without telling his friends or family in January 2015. He received religious and military training and continued on to Syria by February.

Samy sent el Gammal a message that read, "It's been a long time, but I'm doing well and just want you to know I'm safe and secure and everything is going according to plan," the documents say.

One social-media account created by Samy showed him standing near a bullet-riddled mural of a Syrian political figure. Samy also sent a text to a friend telling him he was living in "bilad al Island, and it's beautiful."

In federal court documents filed Monday, prosecutors revealed Samy died in Syria last November. Samy was never charged by federal prosecutors.

Samy's parents lived in Middletown, according to the federal documents.