Samantha Lewthwaite, Omar Hammami and More Western Jihadists (PHOTOS)

FOREIGN

It might seem contradictory for an organization intent on destroying the Western way of life to embrace outsiders into its ranks, but groups like al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Syrian rebel factions have been attracting outside converts for years. These now infamous Westerners, some imprisoned, some dead, some on the lam, are poster children for a new breed of homegrown extremism.