It
was said, in September 2013, one hundred Canadians joined the Syrian
jihad, much more than their American counterparts. Some media speak
of 3 Canadians who have been killed in Syria, but the authorities
have not confirmed the figure. An American filmmaker, Bilal Abdul
Kareen, who lived in the midst of an Islamist group for a year,
claims to have crossed 20-30 Canadians. According to him, one of
them, Abu Muslim, took part in the fighting around Damascus airport
in August 20131.In
December, the Canadian government spoke of "dozens" of
people who left in Syria, without being more precise. Canada has put
on its list of terrorist organizations al-Nosra front in November
2013, and since April 2014, the law was strengthened to prevent
candidates to jihad from leaving Canadian soil. Ali Dirie, a member
of the terrorist group Toronto 18 (which was dismantled in 2006 in
the midst of planning attacks), nevertheless have left to Syria after
serving a prison sentence : released in 2011, he died there in
September 2013. From Somali origin, born in 1983, Dirie played a
visible role in the radicalization of inmates in prison, highlighting
the absence of Canadian structure to avoid this process2.
Another Canadian, the famous Abu Muslim, appeared in a British
documentary filmed in Syria amid an armed group composed mainly of
foreign fighters3.
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| Ali Dirie, vu ici en 2000.-Source : http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2013/09/25/toronto_18_ali_mohamed_dirie_convicted_in_plot_dies_in_syria/dirie.jpg.size.xxlarge.promo.jpg |
The
first Canadian to die in Syria is probably Jamal Mohamed Abd
al-Kader, born and raised in Canada, but from a family of Kurdish
origin, who comes from the north-east of Syria4.
Became a student, he chose to join the jihad and arrives in Turkey in
July 2012. He crossed the border and rallied the brigade Asifat
a-Shimal of the Free Syrian Army before joining Ahrar al-Sham. First
he fought in Aleppo during the summer and fall of 2012, then joined
Damascus in December until his death February 26, 2013. With a
student normal course, he was however arrested by the police in
December 2010 with two friends in possession of a weapon without a
permis5.
From July 2011 Thwiba Kanafani, had joined the Syrian rebels, and
after several months, had returned to Canada to rally help for jihad.
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| Jamal Mohamed Abd al-Kader.-Source : http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6Nu8F5Mslc/UhFvrrkdzjI/AAAAAAAAFV4/0GoBTw1Rf9M/s1600/jamal+abd+qader.jpg |
Recently,
an American jihadist, Abu Turab Al-Muhajir, announced Abu Muslim died
last year in the assault on the Minnagh airbase6.
Abu Muslim, aka André Poulin, is used in a recruitment video of
ISIS, well after his death in combat, in July 20147.
According to him, he might be there 100 Canadians in Syria, which
corresponds to high estimate of ISCR. Andre Poulin, that was his real
name, was from Ontario, and had converted to Islam in 2009. He comes
before justice for threatening his host, a Muslim, because he had an
affair with latter's wife. Another Canadian, Damian Clairmont, alias
Abu Talha al-Canadi, was also killed in Aleppo. He converted to Islam
after a suicide attempt. In November 2012, he announced to his mother
that he was going to Egypt to learn Arabic, but the Canadian security
thought he joined Syria. He was monitored as it was part of an
extremist group in Calgary : it would not have left to Cairo but to
Istanbul. He called his mother from Syria in February 20138.
He had several names and according to some sources, he joined
al-Nosra front. Indeed it would have been injured and executed by FSA
fighters9.
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| Damian Clairmont.-Source : http://i.cbc.ca/1.2497627.1389806171!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/mustafa-al-gharib-damien-clairmont.jpg |
In
April 2014, another Canadian appear in a propaganda video of ISIS :
Mohamed Farah Shirdon, aged 20, a native of Calgary in Alberta. He
studied until 2012 at least at the Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology. In the video, he burns his Canadian passport and
threatens Canada and the United States. Shirdon comes from a Somali
family quite easy : her father, Abdi Farah Shirdon, is a former Prime
Minister of Somalia, which has survived several assassination trials
from the Shabaab. Sister and mother of Shirdon live in Calgary and
are very involved in religious affairs of their community10.
Shirdon is one of the last Canadians identified as having left to
fight in Syria, but it is not the only one. Umm Haritha, a young
woman of 20 years, leaving Canada in December 2013 with a suitcase
half empty and 1,500 dollars, against the advice of his parents, and
went to Turkey. A week later, she is wife in Syria with Abu Ibrahim
al-Suedi, a Swedish fighter of Palestinian origin who fight for ISIS.
On May 5, the Swede died in a kamikaze attack by a fighter of the
rival faction of ISIS, al-Nosra. Umm Haritha, on his Twitter account,
claims to have joined Syria by conviction. His radicalization date
just four months before his departure, when she begins to wear the
niqab. Since she is a widow, she lives in Manbij, a town near the
Turkish border controlled by ISIS. She published many pictures of
everyday life of the city, and even baptize Raqqa, the bastion of
ISIS, the "New York of Syria". She does not intend
to return in Canada11.
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| Des femmes portant le niqab photographiées par Umm Haritha à Manjib, en Syrie.-Source : http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BmW-sDSIQAA3PB-.jpg:medium |