Calgary man pleads guilty to terrorism charges after fighting as ISIS sniper in Syria

A Calgary man has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences, admitting to a kidnapping during a year-long stint fighting as a trained sniper with ISIS in Syria.

Hussein Sobhe Borhot, 36, pleaded guilty to participating in terrorist activities outside Canada and committing a crime at the direction of a terrorist organization. 

Borhot spent from May 2013 to June 2014 in Syria, after sneaking across the border from Turkey with the help of a Turkish military officer who'd been paid to allow ISIS fighters to cross over.

RCMP worked with the FBI and U.S. Department of Defence throughout the seven-year investigation. 

When he returned to Calgary, Borhot was the subject of two undercover operations, telling an officer he'd been inspired by the first-person shooter video game Call of Duty.

Defence lawyer Rame Katrib along with prosecutors Kent Brown and Domenic Puglia negotiated the plea to two of the four charges Borhot faced. 

On Thursday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice David Labrenz accepted the pleas and adjourned the case to next month for a sentencing hearing. Borhot will remain on bail, on strict conditions pending sentencing.

When Labrenz asked Borhot if he admitted the facts of the case, the offender said he did but added, "I didn't know better."

The maximum sentence on the second offence is life in prison, although lawyers have not said what they will be seeking.

Details of Borhot's crimes come from an agreed statement of facts, read aloud by Puglia. 

The agreed statement of facts does not detail how he was recruited to fight for ISIS but begins with Borhot boarding a plane in Calgary on May 9, 2013, headed for Turkey.

According to the document, Borhot did not tell his wife or father of his plans to travel to Syria. He used a prepaid credit card loaded with $3,500 to book his flights.

From Turkey, Borhot crossed into Syria, where he "did a lot of training" and received weapons, including grenades and an AK-47.

At first, Borhot told the undercover officer, he wanted to be a suicide bomber but changed his mind and became a fighter instead.