Kiwi jihadi labelled a terrorist by United States
An expat New Zealander who has spent years fighting for Islamic State (Isis) has been declared a ‘‘global terrorist’’ by the United States Government.
Mark John Taylor, 42, is known as the ‘‘bumbling jihadi’’ after he accidentally revealed his locations in the Middle East on social media at least three years after he became involved with Isis.
Taylor, who originally came from Hamilton, is now believed to be living in the Syrian city of Raqqa. He has previously urged other Kiwis to carry out terrorist attacks.
Yesterday (NZ time), the American State Department declared Taylor a ‘‘specially designated global terrorist’’, alongside four other men.
‘‘Mark John Taylor is a New Zealand national who has been fighting in Syria with Isis since the (autumn) of 2014,’’ a department official said.
‘‘Taylor has used social media, including appearing in a 2015 Isis propaganda video, to encourage terrorist attacks in Australia and New Zealand.’’
The New Zealander, who has adopted multiple aliases, including Muhammad Daniel, the name he used on professional networking website LinkedIn, will also face sanctions by the US Government.
American nationals have been ‘‘prohibited from engaging in transactions or dealings’’ with Taylor. Property or interests in his possession that fall under US jurisdiction will also be frozen, though he is not believed to own such assets.
The United States Embassy in Wellington said the terrorism list was ‘‘designed to restrict the resources of terrorists seeking to inflict significant harm’’. ‘‘The US is committed to doing all that we can to stop such attacks,’’ a spokeswoman confirmed.
Specially designated global terrorists are ‘‘foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US citizens’’ or that country’s national security, foreign policy or economy.
Also on the list are: El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of Isis’ execution cell; British extremist Anjem Choudary; Sami Bouras, a Swedish citizen of Tunisian descent, who has helped plan suicide attacks; and Shane Dominic Crawford, an Islamic State fighter from Trinidad and Tobago.