Born: 1983;

Place of Birth: Saudi Arabia;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: Saudi, Canadian;

General Info:
Mohammed Khalifa, also known as Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi and Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir, has been charged with conspiring to provide material to support the Islamic State terrorist organization.

Khalifa joined the terrorist group as a fighter in 2013 before being recruited to the media bureau, the ‘Diwan of Central Media,’ in 2014 where he became one of the lead translators and English-language narrators for Islamic State’s propaganda material.

He ran the terrorist group’s English media sector including videos, audio statements and an online magazine becoming a prominent Islamic State media figure.

Khalifa translated and narrated around 15 Islamic State recruitment videos, including two of the group’s most influential efforts at luring Westerners: ‘Flames of War: Fighting Has Just Begun,’ in 2014, and ‘Flames of War II: Until the Final Hour,’ in 2017.

The videos included brutal executions of prisoners and hostages, calls to violence against the US, allied nations, and their citizens, and footage of Islamic State attacks around the world.

They also portrayed glamorized portrayals of Islamic State, its fighters, and the violence they encouraged.

One video claimed to show the daily life of Islamic State members who encouraged viewers to conduct attacks against non-Muslims.

One video includes a voice recording of the Pulse Nightclub shooter, pledging his allegiance to Islamic State during the horrific 2016 mass shooting in Orlando.

Due to this fluency in both English and Arabic, Khalifa’s work aimed to enlist Islamic State supporters to travel to ISIS-controlled areas to join the group or to conduct attacks in the West.

Throughout his time producing Islamic State propaganda material, he continued to engage in active combat for the terrorist group up until his capture.

He was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2019 and recently transferred to FBI custody.