- Video shows a recent suicide attack on government troops in northern Syria
- Radical Islamists: One of the attackers is American, identified as Abu Hurayra
- U.S. official: Man likely had an American connection, but it's not fully confirmed
- U.S. officials have expressed concerns about Americans fighting in Syria
(CNN) -- A truck is loaded with munitions, then driven up a hillside in northern Syria. Moments later, there is a massive blast followed by cries of "Allahu Akbar," or God is great in Arabic, as well as the rattling of gunfire.
Suicide bombings like this are not new in war-torn Syria. But what could make this one different is the man who radical Islamists say played a part in pulling it off.
An American.
Abu Farouk al Shamy, a spokesman for the rebel Suqour al-Sham battalion, told CNN the Sunday attack was executed in coordination with the al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-linked organization that the U.S. government has blacklisted as a foreign terror organization.
Portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dominate the cityscape in central Damascus on Tuesday, May 27, as the capital prepares for next week's presidential elections. Al-Assad is firmly in power three years into a civil war, while the opposition remains weak and fragmented and extremists grow in numbers and influence. The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011. 
The father of a 3-month-old girl weeps as he takes her body Monday, May 26, after she's pulled from rubble in Aleppo following a barrel bomb strike reportedly by government forces. 
A woman stands in a heavily damaged building in Aleppo on May 26. 
An injured man lies in a hospital bed after alleged airstrikes by government forces in Aleppo on Sunday, May 18. 
Buildings lie in ruins in Homs on Saturday, May 10, days after an evacuation truce went into effect. Thousands of displaced residents have returned to the city. 
Rescuers carry a man wounded by a mine in the Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood of Homs on May 10. 
A Syrian woman carries a suitcase along a street in the Juret al-Shayah district of Homs on May 10. 
Residents carry their belongings in al-Hamidieh neighborhood in the Old City of Homs on May 10. 
A woman injured when a mine went off is carried in Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood in the Old City of Homs on May 10. 
Residents return to damaged dwellings in Homs on May 10. 
Debris lies on a deserted street in Homs on Thursday, May 8. 
A mosque is seen through shattered glass in Homs, where an evacuation truce went into effect on Wednesday, May 7. 
A wounded man is treated at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, May 4. 
Debris rises in what Free Syrian Army fighters said was an operation to strike a checkpoint and remove government forces in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, on Monday, May 5. 
A man helps a woman through debris after reported airstrikes by government forces on Thursday, May 1, in the Halak neighborhood of Aleppo. 
Syrians gather at the site of reported airstrikes in Aleppo on May 1. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 33 civilians were killed in the attack. 
A woman runs after two barrel bombs were thrown, reportedly by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on May 1. 
A boy runs in Aleppo on Sunday, April 27, after what activists said were explosive barrels thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad. 
Security and emergency medical personnel work at the site of a car bomb explosion Monday, April 14, in the Ekremah neighborhood of Homs. 
In this photo released by the state-run SANA news agency, Syrian forces take positions during clashes with rebels near the town of Rankous, Syria, on Sunday, April 13. 
Flames engulf a vehicle following a car bomb Wednesday, April 9, in the Karm al-Loz neighborhood of Homs. 
A man carries a child who was found in the rubble of an Aleppo building after it was reportedly bombed by government forces on Monday, March 18. 
An elderly man and a child walk among debris in a residential block of Aleppo on March 18. 
A woman with blood on her face carries a child following a reported airstrike by government forces Saturday, March 15, in Aleppo. 
People attempt to comfort a man in Aleppo after a reported airstrike by government forces on Sunday, March 9. 
Buildings in Homs lay in ruins on March 9. 
Syrian forces fire a cannon and a heavy machine gun loaded on a truck as they fight rebels in the Syrian town of Zara on Saturday, March 8. 
A handout photo released by SANA shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaking March 8 during a meeting in Damascus, Syria, to mark the 51st anniversary of the 1963 revolution, when Baath Party supporters in the Syrian army seized power. Al-Assad said the country will go on with reconciliation efforts along with its fight against terrorism. 
Syrians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces on Friday, March 7. 
People dig through the rubble of a building in Damascus that was allegedly hit by government airstrikes on Thursday, February 27. 
A boy walks ahead of men carrying the body of his mother in Aleppo on Saturday, February 22. According to activists, the woman was killed when explosive barrels were thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad. 
A man holds a baby who survived what activists say was an airstrike by al-Assad loyalists Friday, February 14, in Aleppo. 
In this photo provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center, Syrian men help survivors out of a building in Aleppo after it was bombed, allegedly by a Syrian regime warplane on Saturday, February 8. 
Syrians gather at a site hit by barrel bombs, allegedly dropped by a regime helicopter on the opposition-controlled Mesekin Hananu district of Aleppo on February 8. 
In this handout photo released by the state-run SANA news agency on February 8, civilians wave national flags in Damascus as they take part in a rally in support of President al-Assad. 
A man stands next to debris in the road following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces in Aleppo on February 8. 
Medical personnel look for survivors after a reported airstrike in Aleppo on Saturday, February 1. 
Syrians carry a dead body following an airstrike on February 1. 
A man walks amid debris and dust on January 31. 
An injured man is covered in dust after an airstrike on January 29. 
A man tries to fix electrical wires in Aleppo on January 27. 
Rebels and civilians check out a crater that activists say resulted from a Syrian government airstrike on an Aleppo bus station on Tuesday, January 21. 
Men rush to a site that Syrian government forces reportedly hit in Aleppo on January 21. 
Buildings lie in ruins in Aleppo on Sunday, January 19, after reported air raids by Syrian government planes. 
A child collects items from a garbage pile in Douma, Syria, northeast of the capital, on Saturday, January 18. 
A piece of exploded mortar lies in a street in Daraya, a Syrian city southwest of Damascus, on Friday, January 17. Photos: Syrian civil war in 2014 
Kerry defends diplomacy in Syria One video on YouTube, with the title "the American martyrdom from al-Nusra Front," identifies the suicide bomber as Abu Hurayra Al-Amriki. This video and several other social media posts feature a picture of a bearded man with that name, smiling and holding a cat.
The man's full and true identity is not known, and CNN cannot independently verify an American by any name recently died in Syria.
But a U.S. law enforcement official concurs the man likely has an American connection.
It's not known if he might be a U.S. citizen or resident, though. And the official pointed out any identity can't be confirmed until remains are recovered or examined, something that would be difficult, given the size of the explosion.
U.S. concern about Americans fighting in Syria
Syrian activists say the video is from Sunday and shows militants' preparations and ultimate attack on Syrian military checkpoints in Jabal Al-Arba'een, near the city of Ariha in Idlib province and believed to be along a key rebel supply route.
According to Syrian activists and social media postings, four vehicles laden with explosives were part of the attack. One YouTube video says the American detonated the biggest one, which contained 17 tons of explosives, including artillery shells. It is not clear what exactly this man's involvement was, including whether he was driving an armored truck, a tanker or some other vehicle.
Even if he clearly did not act alone, it is the man identified as Abu Hurayra who has gotten a lot of attention on websites and social media venues tied to radical Islamists.
This includes a tweet by a man with the handle Abu Suleiman al-Muhajer, whose bio identifies him as belonging to al Qaeda in the Levant, the umbrella organization for the al-Nusra Front. His tweet, which was published on the radical Islamist website Hanein, features the alleged American's picture and the words, "Abu Hurayra Al-Amriki performed a martyrdom operation in Idlib, Jabal Al-Arba'een. May Allah accept him."
The name Abu Hurayra, which is popular among Sunni Muslims, offers little clue as to the man's identity. Abu Hurayra was a companion of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and the narrator of Hadith.
Regardless, if his U.S. nationality could somehow be confirmed, it wouldn't be a total surprise.
U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials have expressed concerns about Americans joining the fight in Syria, including with groups like the jihadist al-Nusra Front. The worry is that they and other Westerners might pose a threat when they return a home.
"There's going to be a diaspora out of Syria," FBI Director James Comey said last week. "And we are determined not to let lines be drawn from Syria today to a future 9/11."
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