A young terrorist from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who was arrested by authorities shared his experiences of training in Syria and warned others not to follow the same path.
In early 2013, Ekber became acquainted abroad with a man named Eli who, according to police, is a member of the international terrorist group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement
After I arrived in Turkey
he (Eli) told me
he will arrange me to go to a place for the Jihad
It's not difficult to travel
between Turkey and Syria.
There's a river with no water and no barriers
I heard that jihadists come to Syria from Iraq or Turkey
these are the only ways
All those jihadists from Europe
came to Syria through Turkey
After Ekber sneaked into Syria
he joined an armed force
and began to receive military training
I'm very regretful
when I recall the things I have done
The living environment was very hard there
I had thought that everything would be ready
because I watched the Jihadi videos
But in fact
I had to sleep with seven or eight people in one room
If it was raining
the path would be too muddy to walk
I could only stay indoors
I learned to make explosive devices there
We could only live by help from others
the food and clothes were all given by others
And there was no one to have a heart-to-heart talk
Early this year, Ekber came back to China and had planned to commit a terrorist attack
I wanted to earn some money in Shijiazhuang
and tried to find the materials for explosives
. My target was one market in Shijiazhuang
I had planned to train some people
and then arrange them to
go to other cities to perpetrate a terrorist attack
However, Ekber was captured by police before being able to conduct his plan.
Weeping in front of the camera
he expressed his deep regret
I want to tell the young men my age that
that no matter you are in school or just like me
please
don't trust the terrorist videos
Use rational judgment instead of being emotional
I had cheated my family
that I was learning abroad
and they held great hope for me
However
I actually went to Syria to receive terrorist training.
I disappointed them
I want to tell them: mom, please forgive me
