US Charges Canadian Who Narrated Islamic State Videos

By i24
Posted on 10/03/21 | News Source: i24

Mohammed Khalifa allegedly served as lead translator in Islamic State propaganda, recruitment videos

A Canadian jihadist who fought for the Islamic State group and narrated violent propaganda videos has been taken into custody by the United States and charged, the Justice Department said Saturday.

Mohammed Khalifa, who was born in Saudi Arabia, was captured during a firefight in January 2019 by Kurdish-dominated Syrian forces allied with the United States.

The 38-year-old was handed over "recently" to US authorities and charged in Virginia with conspiring to provide material support to IS resulting in death, says a Justice Department statement.

Khalifa left Canada in 2013 to join the Islamic State group 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.