Notorious Canadian ISIL cheerleader ‘Harun’ gets Winnipeg house raided by RCMP

[Ian Smith son]

Notorious Canadian ISIL cheerleader ?Harun? gets Winnipeg house raided by RCMP | National Post

Using variations of the name Harun, he had been posting jihadist propaganda on social media sites for months, some of it overtly supportive of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. “We are coming for #usa … #ISIS,” one read.

He described himself as a Canadian from “The Peg” and said he had been interviewed by the authorities. This week, he wrote on Twitter that if he could live in a different time and place, he would rather be fighting in Syria.

But on Thursday, his online posts stopped — around the same time more than a dozen RCMP officers arrived at a suburban Winnipeg home to execute a search warrant, leaving with what appeared to be computer equipment.

Aaron Daniel Driver, 24, also known as Harun Abdurahman, appeared briefly in court on Friday. The RCMP is seeking a peace bond against him on the grounds he will “participate in or contribute to a terrorist group.”

Police have said little about the case or what prompted the arrest, but with Canada’s new anti-terrorism law about to come into force, it may be the first strike against the handful of extremists who are promoting ISIL online from the comfort of Canada.

“I wasn’t too surprised that Harun would face more law enforcement action at some point. He had been warned in the past about his posts,” said Prof. Amarnath Amarasingam, who has been studying Canadian foreign fighters for a major research project.