A father who traveled to Syria last year to search for his son says he met an 18-year-old Canadian member of the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda while in the northern the city of Aleppo.
Although dozens of Canadians are believed to have left for Syria to join extremist factions, the teen encountered by the Belgian father is the youngest known to be fighting in the conflict. He was a member of the Al-Nusrah Front, a terrorist group under Canadian law.
In an interview on Monday, Dimitri Bontinck recalled running into the Canadian in April 2013, during his first trip to Syria to retrieve his son. “He was just 18, this boy,” Mr. Bontinck said of the Canadian. “He was proud to be there, to help against Bashar Assad, and he was proud to make jihad there.”