Mohammed Khalifa (born 10 July 1983) is a Canadian citizen who traveled to Islamic State-occupied territory, where he narrated Islamic State war videos.[2][3]
Observers had long speculated that two important Islamic State war videos, Flames of War and Flames of War 2, were narrated by a Canadian.[4] Khalifa was captured in a clash with the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2019, and acknowledged he was the narrator.[5][6]
The Flames of War was described as one of the most influential Islamic State war videos.[5] It is 55 minutes long, much of the footage filmed with a GoPro style body-camera, worn by a fighter, who first digs in, then charges Syrian soldiers. Other footage records prisoners first being made to dig their own graves, then showing their brutal executions.
According to Charlie Winter, a counter-terrorism specialist from the International Center for the Study of Radicalization, "His voice is the most recognizable English-speaking voice to have ever appeared in Islamic State propaganda."[5]
Winter called The Flames of War
In October 2021, Khalifa was flown to Virginia and arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutors charged him with "material terrorism support leading to death", alleging that he was responsible for publicising the infamous video of James Foley's beheading.[7] Raj Parekh, acting US attorney, described Khalifa as "the voice behind the violence".[8]
On December 10, 2021, Khalifa pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization, resulting in death.[9] He was sentenced to life in prison on 29 July 2022.[10]
^ abcdeRukmini Callimachi (2019-02-17). "The English Voice of ISIS Comes Out of the Shadows". The New York Times. Hasaki, Syria. Archived from the original on 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-24. Speaking fluent English with a North American accent, the man would go on to narrate countless other videos and radio broadcasts by the Islamic State, serving as the terrorist group's faceless evangelist to Americans and other English speakers seeking to learn about its toxic ideology. Now a 35-year-old Canadian citizen, who studied at a college in Toronto and once worked in information technology at a company contracted by IBM, says he is the anonymous narrator.
