Friday September 12, 2014
FARAH MOHAMED SHIRDON
CALGARY -- A city man reportedly killed last month while taking part in the Iraq insurgency may still be alive, according to messages apparently posted by the man on social media.
Although never confirmed by Foreign Affairs, reports of the death of Farah Mohamed Shirdon spread through various social media sites Aug. 15. No cause of death was given.
A member of a prominent Somali-Canadian family in Calgary, Shirdon reportedly left Canada earlier this year to fight alongside insurgents in Iraq.
On Thursday, a Twitter account purportedly belonging to Shirdon claimed that reports of his death were false, and that he was instead recovering from injuries sustained in battle.
The Twitter account believed to be owned by Shirdon contains several pro-insurgent tweets, including a declaration that beheading Shia Muslims is a "beautiful thing," as well as several messages for his mother and family explaining that his love for the cause outweighed his love for them.
The account's last tweet before Thursday's post was dated July 28, describing Eid al-Fitr celebrations "‹in Iraq.
Shirdon appeared in a video released in April alongside fellow foreign-born jihadis tearing up and burning their passports.
Two Calgarians have been killed in Iraq and Syria fighting for the radical insurgency group. Damian Clairmont, 22, was killed earlier this year in Syria, while Salman Ashrafi killed himself in apparent suicide attack near Baghdad in June.
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service claims that over 130 Canadians have joined Islamic State rebels in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia.