The Canadian IS Jihadist Who Burned His Passport On YouTube Is Reportedly Dead

As we last reported, a Canadian jihadist by the name of Farah Mohamed Shirdon (who identified himself as Abu Usamah to us) burned his passport in a popular YouTube video produced by the Islamic State. Now, that same jihadist, who was operating in Syria and Iraq and variously known by his Twitter handle (@MuhajirSumalee) or Abu Usamah, has reportedly been killed.

At least one IS-linked social media source has confirmed to me the death of Shirdon, but couldn't offer any more details. I've reached out to other known Canadian fighters about the fate of Abu Usamah, and have yet to receive a reply.

In response to an inquiry about Shirdon's whereabouts, Jean-Bruno Villeneuve, a spokesperson with the Canadian Foreign Affairs department, told me the department is aware of reports that a Canadian was killed in Iraq. Whether that's Shirdon is not yet clear.

"We are following the situation closely," Villeneuve said. "Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada advises against all non-essential travel to Iraq due to the dangerous and unpredictable security situation."

Meanwhile, the world of Twitter jihadis is exploding with messages of congratulations to @MuhajirSumalee. One fighter said he isn't sad about @MuhajirSumalee passing, and is uplifted by the fact that his comrade attained "Shahadah," the Arabic word for "testimony" that's often associated with martyrdom.

Some IS-linked accounts have already memorialized Usamah quoting him in highly produced images.

Back in June, I spoke on the chat platform Kik messenger with the jihadist who claimed to be the Canadian expat who burned his passport in the now infamous video. While I could not confirm the man's identity at the time, CBC identified him as Farah Mohamed Shirdon.

Throughout our conversation, it struck me just how Western the user calling himself Abu Usamah sounded, often dropping colloquial phrases like "homie" and at least one "lol."

I reached out to Abu Usamah's Kik account this morning, and have yet to receive a reply.

To be completely honest, Usamah (allegedly Shirdon) was polite and very helpful—not exactly what you'd expect when speaking with a militant fighting for the world's most intimidating jihadist organization, which threatens the stability of the Middle East.

That being said, there's no denying the barbarity linked to the organization he fought with unquestionably and that cannot be easily forgotten.

His online presence included a now defunct Instagram account that several IS observers used as a portal into the world of Western fighters in Syria. But as the months wore on after our initial conversations in May and June, Abu Usamah turned down my requests for more interviews.

His Twitter account became increasingly hard line, posting messages condoning beheadings of Shia Muslims and lobbying for more Western fighters to come to Iraq and Syria.

As of late, he posted a very cryptic message alluding to a potential martyrdom operation, addressed to his mother and one to his followers during Ramadan.

The messages, which appear to embrace his eventual demise in a conflict that's now intensely raging across Iraq and Syria, left many with the feeling his death might be sooner rather than later—especially when there's a clear precedence of Canadian fighters dying in Syria during battle, or committing suicide operations in Iraq, all on behalf of IS.

Without intentionally doing it, Usamah became one of the many portraits of Western fighters in IS anybody could click and discover. The accessibility of his, and the profiles of other western fighters, is part of the reason IS has so successfully recruited jihadis the world over.

Usamah told me he didn't hate Canadians, but despised their government and had no intention of ever returning. Still, his online footprint has provided journalists and voyeurs the opportunity to experience the visceral reality of war without actually being there.

What Usamah has given observers like me is a very clear portrait: the beginning of his career as an IS fighter, the middle, and tragically now, the end. All only a few clicks and gander away from seeing the life of a young, likely dead, fighter you could've had math class with in the 2000s.