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The last photo to appear online showed him — or someone who closely resembles him — sprawled on a grassy plain, lined up with 10 other dead gunmen. Shown the photo, El Shaer said, “I can’t confirm if that is actually Waseem or not.”

In emails, he said he had not heard from his friend. “I am unsure if he’s alive or not since I haven’t had no communication with him,” said El Shaer, who is also wanted by the RCMP. He denied he was in Syria and appeared to be in Turkey.

I am unsure if he’s alive or not since I haven’t had no communication with him

Prof. Amarnath Amarasingam, who is conducting research for an academic study of Canadian foreign fighters, said several foreign fighters in Syria have told him Waseem was killed during the March battle over Tal Hamis.

His friends in Windsor also identified him from the photo, he said. “In the chaos of Syria, we rarely get photos of Western fighters who die in battle, but I think we can be fairly sure in this case. I would be quite surprised if we come to find out that he is in fact still alive.”

Nonetheless, the RCMP continued its investigation, charging Waseem in absentia this week with facilitating terrorist activity, participating in terrorist activity and leaving Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group.

Much of the evidence came courtesy of Waseem himself, who openly wrote about his participation in terrorism under various online aliases. The facilitation charge relates to messages he sent on how to join the fight in Syria, what equipment to bring and how to prepare.

“He’s provided advice and information on social media sites to others,” Supt. Crouch said. She said while the photo of the dead fighter looked like him, police still had to follow through. Waseem came back to Canada once before, she noted.

“So for us it’s just a way to finish off the investigation that we have against him,” she said. “It’s for us to be prepared should he come back, and at least we have a mechanism in which to ensure the safety of the community by being able to arrest him and bring him before the courts.”

National Post

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