US officials plan a federal court prosecution for Irek Hamidullan, a veteran jihadist from Russia who led attacks on US troops in Afghanistan. He is thought to have links to Islamist fighters in Chechnya. Abu Omar Aqidi, a senior member of the Al Nusrah Front, said Islamic State hostage Peter Kassig, an American medic, had treated him and other jihadists in Syria. The Pentagon said Syrian opposition fighters to be trained by the US will receive basic defensive training but admitted that they “won’t have the decisive effect” against the Islamic State. Three teenage girls from Denver who tried to travel to Syria have returned home after being intercepted by authorities in Germany.
