An Alberta man who the RCMP say travelled to Syria to fight alongside Islamic State has been charged in absentia.
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for 22-year-old Farah Mohamed Shirdon of Calgary, on Thursday.
Police allege that Shirdon left Canada on March 14, 2014, to join Islamic State.
"Our investigation showed that Shirdon served in a combat role and performed other functions for ISIS such as recruiting, fundraising, encouraging others to commit violence and spreading propaganda – all designed to enhance the activities of the ISIS," RCMP Assistant Commissioner Marlin DeGrand said in a news release.
Shirdon has been charged with several offences including:
- Leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group
- Participation in the activity of a terrorist group
- Instructing a person to carry out terrorist activity relating to encouraging others to travel to Syria or Iraq, and to send money to ISIS
- Instructing a person to carry out terrorist activity relating to encouraging others to commit violence in support of ISIS
- Commission of an indictable offence for a terrorist group relating to threats made towards Canada and the U.S. in an April 2014 video released by ISIS
- Commission of an indictable offence for a terrorist group relating to threats made in a September 2014 interview
The charges were laid in absentia, as police believed Shirdon is overseas. Officials say they are working to bring Shirdon back to Canada where he will be arrested.
Shirdon appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video destroying his Canadian passport and making threats against Canada and the United States. Reports that he was killed while fighting in Iraq circulated on social media in August 2014, but a man claiming to be Shirdon reappeared six weeks later, in an interview with Vice News.
At the time, Shirdon said he decided, on his own, to join Islamic State. He also claimed that CSIS had interviewed him several days before he left Canada for Syria.
With files from The Canadian Press
