Two more Canadians have made America’s most wanted terrorist list.
The Specially Designated Global Terrorists list now includes Farah Mohamed Shirdon, 24, and Tarek Sakr, 30. Their names were officially added last Wednesday as part of a U.S. government publication of regulations. The two men are cited as threats to both the national security and the economic interests of the United States.
As revealed in an online statement, the State Department describes Sakr as a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who is a trained sniper, courtesy of al-Qaida satellite al-Nusra Front. Shirdon, who was born in Canada, uses the alias of Abu Usamah. He made the most wanted list because of his alleged efforts on behalf of ISIS: fighting for the terrorist organization, raising funds and recruiting others into it.
“Today’s action notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Sakr and Shirdon are actively engaged in terrorism,” reads a statement from the State Department.
Shirdon is already facing criminal charges in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have charged him with several offenses in absentia, including participation in terrorist activity and instructing others to participate in terrorist activity.
Another charge is tied to an interview Shirdon did with Vice. Shirdon is accused of threatening to wage more terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, predicting a “brilliant” attack on New York City and promising to plant the ISIS flag over the White House. The man in that video identified himself as Abu Usamah.
Less is revealed about Sakr, with the state department only alleging that he “has conducted sniper training in Syria and periodically travels to Turkey.” No more information was forthcoming from the office of Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
“For national security and privacy reasons, the Government of Canada cannot provide information on Tarek Sakr,” Scott Bardsley said in an email Sunday to The Canadian Press.
Bardsley said Sakr has not been charged in Canada and the federal government “cannot comment on who is or is not the subject of a criminal investigation as this falls under the independent realm of police agencies.”
Placement on the Specially Designated Terrorists list brings a prohibition to use the U.S. financial system and bans American citizens from providing those listed with any form of assistance or financial aid.
The list contains a number of infamous names from the dark corners of global terrorism like Hamza bin Laden, the son of 9-11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, and two men wanted for involvement in the Paris terrorist attacks of 2015 that resulted in 130 deaths.
There are other Canadians on the list: Hassan el-Hajj Hassan, accused of complicity in a 2012 bomb attack that murdered five Israelis on a bus, and Michel Samaha, who held the office of minister of information and tourism in the Lebanese government.