FBI Director James Comey said he’s worried that more Americans are at risk of being kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, CBS News reports.
“We are deeply concerned about the safety and security of American citizens worldwide,” Comey said in his written testimony ahead of a hearing in front of the House Homeland Security Committee. “ISIL and other foreign terrorist organizations may continue to try to capture American hostages in an attempt to force the U.S. government and people into making concessions that would only strengthen ISIL and further its terrorist operations.”
ISIS has already beheaded two American journalists.
Unlike some European countries, the U.S. does not pay ransoms.
“The U.S. policy of not paying ransom to kidnappers is longstanding and it is sound. It would be a mistake of strategic proportions to change that policy,” Michael Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA and a CBS News national security analyst, said last month. “If we were to do so, many more Americans would be kidnapped…and we would be become an ATM for militant groups around the world.”
