An American agreed to be an ISIS suicide bomber, then tried to quit because it was too hard

28-year-old Mohamed Jamal Khweis was born in the U.S. to Palestinian immigrant parents.

A couple of years ago, he decided to join ISIS, and even told them he was willing to be a suicide bomber.

Now, convicted of providing material support to a terrorist organization, Khweis is heading to prison.

But, he’ll be out before his 50th birthday.

How he got there

In December 2015, Khweis traveled to Syria by way of Turkey, and spent time at a safe house in Raqqa with other recruits for training.

While his social media activity and communications indicate he had a strong interest in the terrorist organization, Khweis claims he ended up there when he met a girl in Turkey and then followed her to Mosul, Iraq.

‘It was pretty hard’

Apparently, the would-be terrorist began to miss the comforts of home while in the Middle East, and decided ISIS life wasn’t for him.

“It was pretty hard to live in Mosul,” Khweis said in an interview with Kurdistan 24 in March 2016. “It’s not like Western countries … there’s no smoking.”

Eventually, Khweis reached the conclusion that he had made a “bad decision,” and wanted to come back to America.

Captured and arrested

Khweis tried to get back to Turkey with the help of some Kurds, but Kurdish Peshmerga military forces captured him and he was eventually transferred into U.S. custody.

His conviction will result in a 20-year prison sentence.