“He is there himself now, and recruitment continues,” a source familiar with the situation said. “I got a text message last summer, where he told me they were a large group who left.”
Those who traveled to Syria with Mohamed’s help are said to be in their 20s and members of the same Islamic group in northern Stockholm.
“The Swedish Security Service spied on the group to see who the leader was. Had they taken action sooner, they would have been able to save those who left [for Syria] earlier,” a source told Aftonbladet.
Mohamed has previously been in the spotlight as a suspect in a high-profile terrorist plot in Gothenburg.
A group of Islamists allegedly intended to carry out an attack on a party marking the opening of a Gothenburg art festival in 2011, set to be attended by Muhammad cartoonist Lars Vilks.
The alleged ISIL recruiter reportedly trained alongside the Somalian al-Shabab Islamist group for two years.
He is also described as a close friend of convicted terrorist Munir Awad, who was jailed for plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper.
Thousands of Europeans have left their homes to join IS in Syria and Iraq, which has seized vast areas of the two countries, announcing the establishment of a caliphate.
As many as 300 people, the highest number among Nordic countries, are likely to have traveled to the Middle East from Sweden to join ranks of the jihadis, the country Security Service estimated.
