(CNN) -- Syrian state-run television reported Thursday that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed three Westerners, including an American woman and a British citizen, who it claims were fighting with the rebels and were found with weapons.

Syrian TV identified the woman, releasing what it claimed were images of her Michigan driver's license and U.S. passport. It also released what is said was the name and passport of a British citizen. It did not identify a third person who it claimed was a Westerner.

The report said the three were ambushed in their car in the flashpoint province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, where government forces have been battling rebels for control.

TV footage showed a bullet-riddled car and three bodies laid out. It also showed weapons, a computer, a hand-drawn map of a government military facility and a flag belonging to the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

United States is aware of the claim that an American woman was killed and is working through the Czech Republic mission in Syria to obtain more information, a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN.
Citing privacy concerns, "we are unable to comment further," the official said.


A family member of the American woman told CNN on Thursday she was informed by the FBI about the death. The family member said the FBI did not provide any details about how the woman died.
CNN is not identifying the family member, who lives in Michigan, until next of kin notifications have been completed.

The UK Foreign Office said it was aware of the claims, but is not able to verify them without further information.

If the Syrian state TV report is true, it will not be the first time an American has been accused of fighting with rebel groups to overthrow al-Assad.

In March, a former U.S. soldier was arrested and charged by the U.S. government with illegally using a weapon on behalf of the al-Nusra Front.

Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, was arrested by the FBI after returning to the United States from Syria, where authorities allege he fought with the militant group. He was charged with the alleged use of a rocket-propelled grenade.

The organization he allegedly fought with, al-Nusra Front, is linked to al Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Nusra has claimed responsibility for more than 600 attacks in Syria, the Justice Department said.

An FBI affidavit says Harroun crossed into Syria in January 2013 and fought against al-Assad's forces. He posted photos and videos of himself on the Internet handling RPGs and other weapons, it said.
Harroun served with the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2003.

In terms of cultural, political, and military influence in africa, Nigeria comes 1st.

I'll give infrastructural and technology development to South Africa.

However, I wonder y africans always bother abt such things.
Canada doesnt compete with US. Neither does France with UK.
Africa unite and grow up.

ogugua88: [size=13pt]The truth is that what Harambee stars experienced is unacceptable. Our country reeks of crap and we tolerate that crap until foreigners tell us we smell. Then we get defensive. Na the way forward? Well done o.

We keep calling ourselves the giant of Africa. Can we start acting like it and look like a giant of Africa?[/size]

Have u bothered to investigate what happened or u'r just judging based on what u'v read here?

The NFF asked the Kenyan football association for their travel itinerary several times but d kenyans were playing hide & seek.

They only informed NFF on monday afternoon abt their travel plans & they arrived after d daily flight to calabar had departed.

They weren't meant to spend any time in lagos at all. so who's to blame?

@ Raggedy_Ann,

Am still waiting for ur reply.

Hw did u (a kenyan) come in possession of a nigerian airforce peugeot 206 car that u wanted to sell?

https://www.nairaland.com/1091897/naija-used-206-sale-phc

Raggedy_Ann:

Aha, your map must have been made in Aba.
It`s SHUT UP by the way. And even though “scope” suggests sight, a stethoscope is an acoustic device.

@ Raggedy_Ann, are u by any means a Kenyan (no pun intended).

If yes, hw did u come in possession of a nigerian airforce peugeot 206 car that u wanted to sell?

https://www.nairaland.com/1091897/naija-used-206-sale-phc

Bash Me: Liar, no source

Next time wash ur eyes with goat urine and potash.

By d way, how did u pass in school?

Anyways, here's d link Mr. Thomas.

http://www.kickoff.com/news/33404/nff-say-kenya-responsible-for-their-troubles

nikkypearl: tnks love,I nid more of u in my life,u re rilly undrstanding!but der was no lie @all!I don't gv a bleep anyway!

You don't give a damn (like our oga @ d top)?

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

Where is nikkypearl?

She has a case to answer.

is she peradventure related to Abati?

Litmus: Innit funny that though poster after poster have corrected the error that this guy is Nigerien and not Nigerian people still insist on carrying along as if he was Nigerian. Its as if many need their negative nigerian news fix or they'd break out in the shivers.

Lols. Seems dy get off 4rm negative news.

We need to export some people to brazil, india, bangladesh, mexico, etc for them 2 learn dt 9ja isn't bad after all.

Don't get me wrong, we do have d right 2 good governance, infrastructural dev't, security of lives and properties, etc.

Esin waju: Those people are very incompetent. I just verified what you posted on the FBI website it says NIGER! The most annoying part of it all is that it is not just vanguard but others as well reported that the suspect is NIGERIAN instead of NIGERIEN.

You know, I saw this at a glance when I read d article.

And these journalists have editors/supervisors. Or have we just resigned ourselves to d assumption dt every bad thing comes 4rm 9ja?

At times, u find newspaper reports with grammatical errors.

Its a shame dt mediocrity is not limited 2 d public service only, it's extended 2 every fabric of our society.

just read this article by a foreigner abt 9ja -
'Femke becomes Funke: Celebrating Mediocrity in Nigeria By Femke van Zeijl'.

@ poster, pls edit ur topic.

The guy is a Nigerien (from Niger).

Only Nigerian journalists are making this mistake of calling him a Nigerian.
No wonder people fail exams.

Osun actually got d name living spring by virtue of d Osun goddess & river. This does nt refer to Jesus in any way.
I wonder y religious leaders always interfere in politics.
Any aggrieved persons shld speak with their reps @ d state house of assembly or go 2 d courts if @ all d gov has misused or abused his office.

Its probably too late 4 amnesty 2 BH.

What legitimate cause were they fighting 4 previously?

The past governor of borno state - Ali Modu Sheriff (ANPP) has a case to answer.

People claim they knw who BH sponsors are, but y cant they do anything about it.

Ali Modu Sheriff (who is a senator now) was arrested in 2012 in cameroun because he is known to b d sponsor of BH & it was created by him & his commissioner of islamic affairs.

Were d police acting on instructions 4rm him 2 kill mohammed yusuf d founder of BH when he was arrested by d army in order to stop him 4rm naming dem as his sponsors?

Afterwards, other politicians 4rm others parties (PDP) knew dt 4 them 2 win elections they had 2 party with BH.

The fund 4rm these politicians is wat BH was using to finance its operation.

Unfortunately, now d original BH is fragmented & has bn hijacked by international terrorist groups & are uncontrollable.

The original BH is asking 4 amnesty now, but it is rather 2 late 4 dt. The ball is no longer in their court.

Even if amnesty is given 2 d original BH, d other groups wld nt lay down their weapons.

Thus, the aim of d amnesty will be defeated cos d other groups are die-hards.

The moral of d story is "those in glass house dnt throw stones"

They started BH 4 political reasons despite knwing hw volatile d region is & hw it can be hijacked by other people locally & internationally.

CAMEROONPRIDE: he said the truth when a Muslim converts to another religion It's death sentence.period aka apostasy.

adaybayor:

Pls don't be a full retard, full retard is bad!!!
I said he should give instances and you come here talking shi.t, do you have plm with comprehension?
Of course bearing false witness is not a sin in xtianity.

1st of all, i am not a promoter of any religion. I strongly believe religion is a personal thing.

2ndly, I was born and I spent almost all my life in the north while i was in d country. I attended islamiya and MSS.

From your name, I'll assume u'r from oyo/osun/ogun. Those states are some of d few tolerant places u'll find.
Ask anybody from ilorin what they'll do 2 even their own son or brother dt converts to another religion. I knw of 2 people from ilorin dt dis has happened to.
& dts not even talking about Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, etc.

Even in Saudi Arabia & othr middle east countries, d embassy staff and foreign workers are only allowed to congregate inside the embassies.
I hope these have shed some light to my previous post.
Wa salaam.

la furia:

the problem is u have refused to understand what the topic is all about. is all about the presence of muslims who are Brazilians and not immigrant among a very high number roman catholics. the number of Brazilians muslim is very very small but nevertheless they are muslims in brazil something i would not have thought of. there are countries i do feel there are no muslims, the likes brazil, mexico, colombia, etc the south america in general, but its good to know there is islam in those countries no matter how small they are.

Alhamudulhai. That means these indigenes converted from another religion to islam.

However, when muslims convert to other religions, it becomes apostasy - which is punishable by death.

That is hypocrisy.

Excerpts
DAKAR/ATHENS (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped seven French nationals, including three children, on Tuesday in northern Cameroon near the border with Nigeria and the perpetrators came from neighboring Nigeria, French President Francois Hollande said.

The risk of attacks on French nationals and interests in Africa has risen since France sent forces into Mali last month to help oust Islamist rebels occupying the country's north.

The seven tourists were abducted at around 7 a.m. in a village about 10 km (six miles) from the Nigerian border near the Waza national park and Lake Chad in the extreme north of Cameroon where Westerners often go for holidays.

It was the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of Cameroon, a former French colony.

No group has claimed responsibility yet.

Banku&Tilapia:


Eeeeediot its their country, if u don't like how deh r treating u Jux get da phuck out but we all know dis nigerians won't cum bak to Nigeria cuz returning to Nigeria its like DIVING INTO A MANHOLE FULL OF SHIIIIIIT....

It is clear to me that u'r just uncouth in ur ways.

I wasnt talking abt myself & 4 ur information, am done with my masters & i've since left.

While i was thr, i got 1st class treatment.

I was referring to ur ghanaian brothers who work as cobblers in south africa and live in slums known as 'loktions'.

Get off nairaland u idiotic nonentity.

Banku&Tilapia:


Stupiiiiiiid post from a mentally challenge person, listen eeediot ur bin country didn't do phuck all for dem. It's their country if u don't like it Jux get out. No one gives a phuck abt ur country. Big broda ma assss

I really dont understand the obsession of ghanians with nairaland or nigerians.

This topic is clearly none of ur business.

I had my postgraduate studies in capetown & I can tell u dt dis hatred extends to all foreigners nt just nigerians only.

Also, u need to note that thr are ghanaians in south africa involved in criminal activities.

In south african, u find a ghanaian working as a cobbler but living way beyond his means. So whr is d money coming from?

Ghanaians are also known 4 their sham weddings to south africans just to legalize their stay.

So dude, just get a life & stop hating.

Its good 2 knw dt our leaders are beginning to realise this & I hope dy will put dis into consideration in their dealings with these countries.

Most African countries just feel threatened without any reason.
This hatred is 4 real and was demonstrated by d SA fans in d stadium during d final match.

The few neutral countries are influenceable by France.

The only friend we have in africa is our south border - the atlantic ocean.

cyril83: bro these lil liver know nothing other than oppressing civilian who is unarmed...you need to see how these nincompoops fired at my car tyres jst bcoz I had an arguement with one of them...when they say yes,they also expect u to say yes sir, I told him am not in the military and i have every right to explain myself mehn you need to see how this low life fired at my car and condemned the front tyres.

Sad to hear this. Wat u shld av done in d middle of dis incidence was 2 note d service nr. & name of 1 of them. Even if u dnt wna report them urself, some of us on NL av friends and families in d military. We cld take dis up 4 u.

When did dis happen & which state?

excondido: this insurgence is gradualy moving southward. everyone should be more vigilant .

Y do u think they arent thr already.
They're probably sleeper cells everywhr, only waiting 2 b activated.

cyril83: Abeg you guyz shud stop addressing those cowards as soldiers, they are not diff from Man o War...imagine how can ordinary militants attacked a whole giant of africa soldiers and wasted their lives,things that would never happened to other countries security men.

I saw ur posts in other threads, u seem to av somethg against d NA. Wat av dy done to u b4?

Pedro JP: A whole national Army couldn't show a reprisal counter attack. Let me check again if it is the police and not the army that was attacked. If na to slap and punish civilians(students) dem go de do like say dem different from the civilians.

If they were not repulsed by d escorts, then d whole contingent wld av died.

I think our citizens have a role 2 play. We shld learn 2 report suspicious pple/activities.

Lagusta:

Abeg stop this immature and fake familiarity joor, if you are an american nko Is your blood made of gold or your §hít smells like cologne

And FYI, we hard-core nigerians ALSO have our own emergency dispatch number, and its 767...

I think d dude needs d address to "yankeeland". He shldnt be on Nairaland.

hollandis: i hate it whem people give kudos to govt officials for doing their job

Exactly wat I was thinking. We need institutions & govt officials functioning like they shld be.
Just d other day, I looked out of my balcony & I saw some kids playing in d woods. Moments later, I saw fire burning. I was gna watch d fire 2 see if it'll get outta control. But while I was stl watching, d fire service arrived & put it out. All this happened within a short period of time.
It got me thinkin u knw. If it were in Nig. wld d fire service respond promptly to bush fire.

I think we shld move away 4rm d era where we clap 4 d govt when dy build boreholes. Some things are naturally d ryts of d citizens & dt is y they'r thr 2 work 4 d citizens.

de-moore:
READY FOR STEALING LOOTING AND RAPING.GOD HAVE MERCY ON MALIANS..

Hey decorum & watch ur tongue.

pretty_boi:
Thanks for the commendation. It seems to me like the owner or Blogger of/on that site (of which I provided a link to) is either in the Nigerian military or knows quite reliable stuff about the Nigerian military. Most of the pictures out here or at least most of the pictures he can lay his hands on are pictures that may not breach military protocols (I suppose),that's why we probably can see these pictures. On the other hand,like you said they need more modern rifles? They definitely would not display their arsenal or more sophisticated weapons indiscriminately. He said that a special squad of Nigerian air force commandos took off from port-harcourt yesterday in a completely different uniform with their primary weapons being tavor assault rifles (pictured below) but that he couldn't get pictures of them. Another reason why the AK-47 is probably the primary weapon for our regular forces is that it is absolutely rugged & is quite easily maintained especially when going to harsh terrains like the Malian desert North for instance. Another thing is that most (but not all) assault weapons are "close-combat" rifles & that's why they're mostly used by commandos,secret service agents etc & hardly used by regular forces. The AK-47 is efficient,easy to maintain,rugged,can stand almost any weather condition etc & this is probably why it remains the "primary weapon" of our regular forces (this is just my opinion though.)

Noted. I agree with u dt d AK47 is battle tested and trusted.

I later went to da blog. Saw dt da gear came 4rm DICON. Dt shows positive steps.

Any idea if some of these guys saw action in Darfur?

Saw d Togolese contingent in jungle gear. Hope d Malian jihadists wnt use dem as target practice.

pretty_boi: Our eagles have landed in Mali......may God guard our guys as they help out on this. I just got these pix of their arrival.

http://beegeagle./2013/01/18/nigerian-soldiers-arrive-in-mali-the-eagles-have-landed/

Good pics Pretty_boi.

Nice to see d eagles in desert gear. They need to change their rifles to somethg modern like M16s & find a better way of marking da rifles.

Also, d flak jacket shld b desert colour.

Pls kp d pics coming.

Liar, liar, pants on fire.