Canadian Forces reservist died fighting with ISIS

Investigators said Bilal Khan, a former reservist from Hamilton, was the only known Canadian ex-soldier to join the ISIS terrorist group.

The Canadian Armed Forces has confirmed that one of its former reservists was killed after making his way to Iraq to join the so-called Islamic State.

Private Bilal Khan enlisted in the terrorist group shortly after he was released from the Canadian military in October 2014, a spokesperson said.

“We are aware that he travelled to Iraq in early 2015 and was killed in November 2015,” said Daniel Le Bouthillier, the Canadian Forces head of media relations.

A former member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry in Hamilton, Ont., Khan is the only Canadian soldier known to have joined ISIS, he added.

The confirmation of his involvement followed an investigation by Canadian Forces National Counter-Intelligence Unit (CFNCIU).

The unit, which investigates threats posed by violent extremists in the military, determined Khan had joined ISIS after just over two years in the infantry reserve.

The CFNCIU investgated whether Khan had “previously presented a radicalization threat within the CAF,” Le Bouthillier said.

“It was determined that he did not, nor had he been radicalized by an individual within the CAF.”