US charges Canadian jihadist who narrated Islamic State propaganda videos
- Saudi Arabia-born Mohammed Khalifa was captured during a firefight in 2019 and handed over ‘recently’ to US authorities, the Justice Department said
- Khalifa is charged with conspiring to provide material support to IS resulting in death
A Canadian jihadist who fought for Islamic State and narrated violent propaganda videos has been taken into custody by the United States and charged, the Justice Department said on Saturday.
Mohammed Khalifa, 38 and born in Saudi Arabia, was captured during a firefight in January 2019 by Kurdish-dominated Syrian forces allied with the United States.
He was handed over “recently” to US authorities and charged in Virginia with conspiring to provide material support to Isis resulting in death, says a Justice Department statement.
Khalifa left Canada in 2013 to join Islamic State in Syria, and by the next year had become a key member of its propaganda team because of his fluent English and Arabic, according to the statement.
He allegedly served as a lead translator in Islamic State propaganda production and as the English-speaking narrator on two violent recruitment videos.
