Hamilton man could be first Canadian killed in anti-ISIS military campaign

HAMILTON, Ont. —  Federal officials are trying to confirm whether a 20-year-old man from Hamilton, Ont., was killed last week during clashes between Kurdish forces and Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham fighters in northern Syria.

After disappearing two months ago, Mohamud Mohamed Mohamud reportedly phoned home to tell his mother he was with the “brothers” in Syria. A few days ago reports appeared online indicating he had been killed.

“We are aware of reports that a Canadian was killed while allegedly fighting with ISIS,” John Babcock, a Foreign Affairs spokesman, said Tuesday when asked about Mr. Mohamud. “We are following the situation closely.”

If the accounts are correct, he would be the first Canadian jihadist killed in the escalating anti-ISIS military campaign, which involves support for Kurdish militias and Iraqi forces, and a U.S.-led air campaign that struck hard on Tuesday.

Several Canadian jihadists took to Twitter following the strikes, signalling they had survived, but officials are concerned that as the coalition air strikes begin to take their toll, some foreign fighters could flee and attempt to return to Canada.

The online posts claimed a Somali-Canadian had died during ISIS raids on Kurdish villages near the Turkish border. He was not named but former classmates told the National Post the gunman in the accompanying photo was Mr. Mohamud.

Known to friends as “Mo3,” he lived with his mother, Asha, in Hamilton and is a former student of St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in the city’s diverse West Mountain neighbourhood, although he did not graduate from there.

His father, who lives in Minneapolis, told Voice of America last week that his son had recently become extremely devout. During a visit to Minneapolis last July, Mr. Mohamud left for the mosque but never returned.