On Saturday, US authorities formally charged a Canadian of Ethiopian descent, born 38 years ago in Saudi Arabia, who became active in promoting the extremist organization starting in the spring of 2013. This activism continued for six years until his arrest in January 2019 in Syria and subsequent transfer to the United States, as stated in a press release from the US Department of Justice concerning Mohammed Khalifa, described as the logistical and broadcasting "voice" of ISIS. Khalifa is accused of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by leading ISIS's English-language media arm, where he produced ten video clips and released dozens of audio statements. He also oversaw an online magazine for the organization and participated in combat operations, becoming a "joker" who assisted ISIS in various fields, according to information obtained by “Al Arabiya.net” from agencies and other sources reported by US media. He began as a fighter when he moved to Syria eight years ago, later engaging in translation and propaganda broadcasting for the organization until he was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces and handed over to the FBI two years ago.
Also noted about Khalifa, who faces a life sentence, is that he grew up and studied information technology in Toronto, Canada, before watching YouTube videos that led him to lean towards al-Qaeda and later to the extremist ISIS. He joined the organization, taking on the alias "Abu Ridwan Al-Kindi" in Syria, where he became one of the symbols of ISIS's media office, as he stated in an interview with the American newspaper "The New York Times." After his arrest, he added that he was happy with his work for the organization and was "not regretting what I did."
A monthly salary of $50 was noted in records from the Alexandria court in Virginia, where it was reported that he encouraged his followers and those influenced by his propaganda to attempt to join ISIS abroad or to carry out attacks in their home countries. This was mentioned in a video where he pledged allegiance to the organization prior to the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, where an Afghan-American, Omar Mateen, opened fire, killing 50 and injuring 53 others, an attack claimed by ISIS. Khalifa himself can also be heard in another video featured by “Al Arabiya.net,” which includes excerpts from an interview he gave to CBC Radio in Canada last June.
In the excerpt, he noted that he was living a normal life in Canada and was doing well for himself "but I decided to give it up, and I knew what I was sacrificing in this process. It was a decision I made, and I stuck to it" until he left with his wife and two sons to Raqqa in northern Syria, where his salary and his wife's were each $50 a month, plus $35 for each of their two sons. There, he became an English-language propaganda star for ISIS, succeeding in recruiting dozens until he was arrested in Deir ez-Zor province during a battle in northern Syria with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, most of whom are Kurds.
On Saturday, remarks were made by Raj Parekh, acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, summarizing that Mohammed Khalifa "not only fought with ISIS on the battlefield in Syria, but he was also a voice for violence" and played a key role in translating and promoting the organization's propaganda texts, "contributing to the recruitment of fighters into ISIS ranks around the world by expanding the number of viewers of videos glorifying brutal killings and indiscriminate violence," as he stated.
