Nova Scotia native killed fighting for Syrian rebels, Baird not surprised
Posted Jan 16, 2014 08:07:59 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says reports that a Canadian was killed while in fighting in war-torn Syria come as no surprise to him.
Baird says “there’s probably more than one Canadian” fighting with rebels who are trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Reports identify the dead Canadian as 22-year-old Mustafa al-Gharib, who was born in Nova Scotia with the name Damian Clairmont.
Reports say al-Gharib, a Muslim convert, left Calgary in 2012 to join al-Qaida-linked rebels in Syria, which is into the third year of a civil war.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says one of its major concerns is the radicalization of Canadians who go to Syria to fight.
CSIS says “dozens of Canadians” are thought to have travelled, or are planning to travel, to parts of the world where they can take part in terrorism.
