A mysterious author making propaganda for an Afghan department of ISIS claimed to be primarily based someplace in Canada which, specialists say, might be trigger for concern for authorities.
Voice of Khurasan, an internet publication utilized by the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-Ok), which is suspected of being behind the Moscow assault that killed at the least 140 folks final week, contains a number of contributions from an individual who publishes below the identify Sulaiman Dawood al-Kanadie.
The final a part of the deal with means “the Canadian” in Arabic and has been utilized by a number of high-profile ISIS members from Canada up to now.
Sulaiman Dawood al-Kanadie seems because the writer of a sprawling June 2023 essay, wherein he appears to counsel that he’s residing below the radar in a Western nation. He chastises Muslim males “particularly the place I dwell” who usually tend to “placed on skinny denims” and “fill their faces with meals at a ‘Free Syria’ or ‘Free Palestine'” fundraiser than decide to preventing in an armed battle on behalf of ISIS.
His identify seems once more on a July 2023 piece demanding a jihadist invasion of Israel and once more within the August concern, the place he says the West has grown bolder “as they’re now again to oppressing and killing Muslims, burning Qur’an, and occupying Muslims’ settlements in Palestine.”
Entrance Burner22:33Why would ISIS-Ok assault Russia?
Researcher makes contact
Riccardo Valle, the director of analysis for the Islamabad-based publication Khorasan Diary, has been monitoring al-Kanadie and others within the broader ISIS-Ok motion, by posing on-line as a supporter. He made contact with al-Kanadie and offered CBC Information with screenshots of discussions with him about his work for Voice of Khurasan.
“He advised me that he was in Canada, however he did not inform me from which a part of Canada,” mentioned Valle.
Valle offered proof of an inactive Fb profile displaying al-Kanadie figuring out himself as from Toronto, however residing in Laval, Que.
One skilled says the looks of an ISIS-Ok member figuring out themselves as “the Canadian” could also be alarming to authorities.
“The truth that he was capable of function for therefore lengthy on such a public scale is regarding,” mentioned Lucas Webber, co-founder of the analysis community Militant Wire, who has been carefully following ISIS-Ok on-line.
“I feel the Moscow assault particularly is shifting the narrative and awakening the worldwide neighborhood to the menace, the size of the menace, that the Islamic State, significantly its Afghanistan department, faces.”
“The emergence of an obvious Canadian media operative working for its South Asian department warrants concern as ISIS-Ok is more and more bellicose in its intensifying marketing campaign to strike the West.”
The Canadian Safety and Intelligence Service (CSIS) mentioned in an emailed assertion that it’s protecting tabs on ISIS-Ok and forecasts the group will proceed to be lively for at the least the rest of the yr.
“CSIS assesses that impressed assaults throughout the globe will proceed throughout 2024 at an unpredictable tempo, associated partially to world occasions, ISIS-Ok messaging and the person motivations of the attackers concerned,” mentioned a spokesperson.
The RCMP, which is charged with monitoring and disrupting terrorist threats in Canada, didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark.
Exploiting the chaos
Lately, ISIS-Ok has exploited the chaos that has reigned in Afghanistan because the Taliban regained management in August 2021 to carve out a stronghold within the nation and enhance its international operations. (Khorasan refers to a historic area that features components of recent day Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan).
Canadians have been among the most prolific spokespeople for ISIS within the current previous. Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a Calgary native who appeared in a promotional video burning his Canadian passport, was one of many group’s first spokespeople to realize prominence on-line in 2014. Mohammed Khalifa, who lived in Toronto, was often called the English “voice of ISIS” in propaganda movies. Each used the same “al-Kanadi” of their aliases.
Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor within the Faculty of Faith at Queen’s College and an skilled on ISIS, says Canadians, like different English-speakers, proceed to be potential recruits for the fear group.
“Canadians have all the time been entrance and centre within the ISIS propaganda equipment for nearly a decade,” mentioned Amarasingam who was involved with a number of Canadian ISIS operatives up to now.
He additionally thinks that al-Kanadie is Canadian.
“Canadian authorities have in all probability identified about him for a very long time, since even researchers have seen how prolific he’s during the last short while,” he mentioned.
“[The RCMP] will probably be very involved as a result of, simply because the frontlines of jihad shift to different theatres, English-language propagandists have loads of potential to draw new fighters to the trigger.”
