Court Case

USA v. Khalifa, Mohammed

February 2021 (Updated July 29, 2022)
Toronto, ON
ISIS

Mohammed Khalifa, a Saudi-born Canadian citizen who was a leading figure in the ISIS English Media Section and served as an ISIS fighter, was charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death. Khalifa was captured overseas by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2019. He was recently transferred into the custody of the FBI, at which point he was first brought to the Eastern District of Virginia. Mohammed Khalifa, aka Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi and Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir served in prominent roles within ISIS starting in 2013 and continuing until his capture by the SDF in January 2019 following a firefight between ISIS fighters and the SDF. In addition to allegedly serving as an ISIS fighter, Khalifa allegedly served as a lead translator in ISIS's propaganda production and the English-speaking narrator on multiple violent ISIS recruitment videos.

Case Updates

2022-07-29 | Leading ISIS Media Figure and Foreign Fighter Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Mohammad Khalifa, a Saudi-born Canadian citizen was sentenced today to life imprisonment for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death. According to court documents, Khalifa, aka Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi and Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir, served in prominent roles within ISIS starting in 2013 and continuing until his capture by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2019 following a firefight between ISIS fighters and the SDF. In addition to serving as a fighter and personally executing two Syrian soldiers on behalf of ISIS, Khalifa served as a lead translator in ISIS's propaganda production and the English-speaking narrator on multiple violent ISIS videos. In the spring of 2013, Khalifa traveled to Syria with the intent of becoming a foreign fighter and ultimately joining ISIS. In or around November 2013, he joined ISIS and swore allegiance to then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In early 2014, he was recruited to join ISIS's media department due, in part, to his language abilities as a fluent English and Arabic speaker. Starting in 2016, Khalifa directed various supporter networks that assisted in the translation, production and dissemination of propaganda released under various ISIS media brands in order to reach Western audiences. He worked within the ISIS media operation until late 2018. Khalifa provided the narration and translation for approximately 15 videos created and distributed by ISIS. The productions narrated by Khalifa include two of the most influential and exceptionally violent ISIS propaganda videos: "Flames of War: Fighting Has Just Begun," distributed on Sept. 19, 2014, and "Flames of War II: Until the Final Hour," distributed on Nov. 29, 2017. The videos depict glamorized portrayals of ISIS and its fighters as well as scenes of violence, including depictions of unarmed prisoners being executed, footage of ISIS attacks and fighting and depictions of ISIS attacks in the United States.

Case Documents