[LINK] "Hamilton family sought CSIS, RCMP help to block son’s entry to Syria"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Bill Dunphy reports on the case of a former Hamilton man, a Somali-Canadian 20 years old, who has been reported to have been killed fighting for ISIS.

A desperate Hamilton family called in CSIS and the RCMP two months ago in a frantic bid to prevent their eldest son from crossing into Syria and taking up arms in that country's civil war.

They failed, and earlier this week, CSIS visited them to tell them unofficially their son, Mohamud Mohamed Mohamud, had likely died in fighting there. According to some media reports, he died following a fight between Kurdish forces and Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham fighters.

If true, he could be the first Canadian killed in the anti-ISIS military campaign.

Hamilton lawyer Hussein Hamdani said Wednesday he was approached by Mohamud's family in July as soon as they realized their missing son was using his phone in Turkey.

“This was not right. He shouldn't have been there. We need to tell the RCMP and CSIS right away,” Hamdani summarized their thinking. “So they contacted me.” Both agencies met with the family, he said, and tried to find ways to thwart Mohamud's entry into Syria.

“But by then, his handlers had him. Once he lands — they have their own underground railway — it's almost impossible to stop him. Unfortunately, he did cross over, and once he did, he texted his mother to say he was in Syria with his brothers.”

Hamdani said the family continued to assist security officials, even working with the RCMP to try to break into Mohamud's email account.

Mohamud was a “very intelligent young man” who'd been attending York University and was on track for a career in medicine, Hamdani said. Just how he became criminally radicalized is not clear.