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An American citizen originally from Virginia has been captured by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq, near the town of Sinjar.

There are currently conflicting reports as to whether the man, identified as 27-year-old Muhammad Jamal Amin - voluntarily defected from the so-called Islamic State, or if he was captured after accidentally entering Kurdish-held territory.

In a video circulated by Kurdish sources online Amin can be seen surrounded by Kurdish fighters, with his head bowed, as a Peshmerga commander asks him his identity.

When the man cannot respond in Arabic or Kurdish he asks him in English "Where are you from?" to which the jihadi responds, in American-accented English "the United States."

According to the Kurdish Rudaw news site, Amin's father is Palestinian, while his mother comes from the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Amin confirmed that in the video, during which he was asked whether he was of American heritage. Staring at the ground, he responds "no, from Iraq... my mother was from here, from Mosul."

In another clip, the American terrorist asks people to stop filming, to which one of the Kurdish fighters asks "why no camera?"

An unnamed Peshmerga commander told the site that the American had entered Iraq just two months ago, after crossing the Turkish border, and from there made his way to Mosul, the largest Iraqi city controlled by ISIS and the group's de-facto hub in the country.