Overview

Khaled Sharrouf was a U.S.-, U.N.-, and Australian-designated terrorist who fled his native Australia in December 2013 to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria. There, he carried out executions on behalf of the terror group.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 Listing 2015 (No. 2),” United Nations via Commonwealth of Australia, November 13, 2014,  https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:th9SnCXPdkkJ:https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014G01861/7b2738b8-086e-47b5-af7f-c32e18bc556b+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us;
“Australia and sanctions [Consolidated List],” Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessed January 12, 2017, http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/security/sanctions/Pages/consolidated-list.aspx. Sharrouf rose to global prominence in 2014 when he disseminated a photo—via Twitter—of his seven-year-old son holding the severed heads of executed ISIS victims.Rachel Olding, “Convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was allowed to visit prisoners,” Sydney Morning Herald, August 3, 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/convicted-terrorist-khaled-sharrouf-was-allowed-to-visit-prisoners-20160803-gqk367.html;
Geoff Chambers, “Tribute to Aussie IS thug Khaled Sharrouf by compatriot Neil Prakash indicates he was killed in an air strike,” The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), August 2, 2015, http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/tribute-to-aussie-is-thug-khaled-sharrouf-by-compatriot-jihadist-neil-prakash-indicates-he-was-killed-in-an-air-strike/news-story/23109ed2ddaa84258243f6018e913b96 Then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said of the photo, “This image, perhaps an iconic photograph… is really one of the most disturbing, stomach-turning, grotesque photographs ever displayed.”Paul Maley, “Federal Police told ISIS has put Khaled Sharrouf in jail,” The Australian (Sydney), May 13, 2016, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/federal-police-told-isis-has-put-khaled-sharrouf-in-jail/news-story/5df5e1fb4b1afe46c1fbd05d922f1613. Sharrouf also released photos of himself participating in the execution of Iraqi captives.Paul Maley, “Federal Police told ISIS has put Khaled Sharrouf in jail,” The Australian (Sydney), May 13, 2016, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/federal-police-told-isis-has-put-khaled-sharrouf-in-jail/news-story/5df5e1fb4b1afe46c1fbd05d922f1613. He was reportedly killed by a coalition airstrike in August 2017.Dylan Welch and Suzanne Dredge, “Khaled Sharrouf, Australian Terrorist, Believed to Have Been Killed in Air Strike in Syria,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 16, 2017, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-16/khaled-sharrouf-believed-to-have-been-killed/8812600.

Sharrouf, who was married to an Australian woman and had five children, was known to Australian authorities long before joining ISIS.John Kehoe, “‘Dead’ Australian ISIL terrorists sanctioned by US Treasury,” Australian Financial Review, January 11, 2017, http://www.afr.com/news/dead-australian-isil-terrorists-sanctioned-by-us-treasury-20170110-gtp61z. As a teenager, Sharrouf turned to drugs and petty crime after being expelled from high school for bad behavior. According to Australian Supreme Court Justice Anthony Whealy, Sharrouf radicalized during this time by mixing in extremist Muslim social circles.Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, “Khaled Sharrouf: The Australian radical fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 10, 2016, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-14/khaled-sharrouf:-the-australian-radical-fighting-in-iraq/5671974. In 2005, Sharrouf was arrested alongside eight others for his role in one of Australia’s biggest terror plots, when Australian counterterrorism units uncovered an enormous cache of guns, ammunition, and bomb-making material in Sydney and Melbourne.Rachel Olding, “Terrifying legacy emerged from success of Operation Pendennis,” Sydney Morning Herald, August 24, 2014, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/terrifying-legacy-emerges-from-success-of-operation-pendennis-20140821-106ow0.html. Sharrouf was imprisoned for possession of materials intended to be used for terrorism, and was released on parole in 2009.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
Rachel Olding, “Terrifying legacy emerged from success of Operation Pendennis,” Sydney Morning Herald, August 24, 2014, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/terrifying-legacy-emerges-from-success-of-operation-pendennis-20140821-106ow0.html. Despite being subject to a travel ban, he managed to travel to ISIS-controlled territory in December 2013 by using his brother’s passport.“Australian terrorist’s children could be taken into care,” BBC News, May 27 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32894860.

Sharrouf was falsely reported killed in a July 2015 U.S. airstrike in Syria. He was eulogized by his Australian compatriot Neil Prakash, an ISIS recruiter and propagandist notorious for recruiting Australians via Twitter to join ISIS.Martin Chulov and Paul Farrell, “Revealed: the new face of Neil Prakash, Australia’s most wanted Isis member,” Guardian (London), December 2, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/neil-prakash-new-images-isis-member-arrest-turkey-australia. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Sharrouf in January 2017 alongside Prakash, as well as Indonesian ISIS supporters Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman and Aman Abdurrahman a.k.a. Omar Rochman.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.

On August 11, 2017, Sharrouf was reportedly killed by a coalition airstrike in Syria. According to the Australian government, Sharrouf and his two sons, 12-year-old Abdullah and 11-year-old Zarqawi, were killed by the airstrike while they were driving in the area of Raqqa, Syria. An anonymous law enforcement official stated that photos of Sharrouf’s corpse had been shared on extremist social media channels, but the Australian border protection minister stated that the government was unable to confirm Sharrouf’s killing.Dylan Welch and Suzanne Dredge, “Khaled Sharrouf, Australian Terrorist, Believed to Have Been Killed in Air Strike in Syria,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 16, 2017, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-16/khaled-sharrouf-believed-to-have-been-killed/8812600.