This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/15/dewsbury-in-utter-shock-at-over-talha-asmals-death-in-iraq-suicide-bombing
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Dewsbury in 'utter shock' over Talha Asmal's death in Iraq suicide bombing | Dewsbury in 'utter shock' over Talha Asmal's death in Iraq suicide bombing |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Community leaders have been left shocked by the death of a teenager believed to have become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber after being “groomed” by Islamic State. | Community leaders have been left shocked by the death of a teenager believed to have become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber after being “groomed” by Islamic State. |
| Talha Asmal, 17, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, who reportedly detonated a vehicle fitted with explosives while fighting for the militant group in Iraq, was described as “a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager” by his devastated family. | Talha Asmal, 17, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, who reportedly detonated a vehicle fitted with explosives while fighting for the militant group in Iraq, was described as “a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager” by his devastated family. |
| Despite his death not being officially confirmed, his family said images released through an Isis-linked Twitter account showing a young man named as Abu Yusuf al-Britani appear to depict their son. | |
| Qari Asim, an imam at the Makkah Masjid mosque who was awarded an MBE for his efforts to build bridges between communities in Leeds since the 7 July 2005 terror attacks, said Isis leaders were acting “like paedophiles” by grooming young men. | |
| “The community is in utter shock and a sense of disbelief that a young lad from Yorkshire is said to [have] become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber,” he said. “Isis is running a sophisticated social media campaign and the community is concerned their faith is being used by hate preachers and internet groomers to manipulate their religion.” | “The community is in utter shock and a sense of disbelief that a young lad from Yorkshire is said to [have] become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber,” he said. “Isis is running a sophisticated social media campaign and the community is concerned their faith is being used by hate preachers and internet groomers to manipulate their religion.” |
| Farooq Yunus, from the Zakaria mosque in Savile Town, Dewsbury, said the whole system had failed the boys. “I think we have failed. Not just the people in here … the council, the police, the community,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. | |
| Pictures released by Isis online show Asmal smiling as he stands by a black Toyota SUV giving the militant group’s signature one-finger salute. | Pictures released by Isis online show Asmal smiling as he stands by a black Toyota SUV giving the militant group’s signature one-finger salute. |
| Another shows the teenager clutching a rifle as he sits cross-legged on a mat alongside two other armed men, apparently taking instruction from a uniformed militant in a crudely furnished ops room. | |
| Lorraine Barker, executive principal of Mirfield Free Grammar and Sixth Form school, where Asmal was studying, told the Times he was very quiet and private and a “typical teenager”. “He didn’t draw any attention to himself, he was just a conscientious student,” she said. | |
| Asmal lived at the family’s terraced home with his mother Noorjaha, 38, and father Ebrahim, 42, before he left for Syria via Turkey in April on a Thomas Cook flight with his next-door neighbour and best friend Hassan Munshi, the brother of Britain’s youngest convicted terrorist. | Asmal lived at the family’s terraced home with his mother Noorjaha, 38, and father Ebrahim, 42, before he left for Syria via Turkey in April on a Thomas Cook flight with his next-door neighbour and best friend Hassan Munshi, the brother of Britain’s youngest convicted terrorist. |
| In a damning statement, his family lashed out at Isis for preying on his “innocence and vulnerability”. | In a damning statement, his family lashed out at Isis for preying on his “innocence and vulnerability”. |
| “Talha was a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager,” they said. “He never harboured any ill will against anybody nor did he ever exhibit any violent, extreme or radical views of any kind. Talha’s tender years and naivety were, it seems however, exploited by persons unknown, who, hiding behind the anonymity of the worldwide web, targeted and befriended Talha and engaged in a process of deliberate and calculated grooming of him. | “Talha was a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager,” they said. “He never harboured any ill will against anybody nor did he ever exhibit any violent, extreme or radical views of any kind. Talha’s tender years and naivety were, it seems however, exploited by persons unknown, who, hiding behind the anonymity of the worldwide web, targeted and befriended Talha and engaged in a process of deliberate and calculated grooming of him. |
| “Whilst there, it appears that Talha fell under the spell of individuals who continued to prey on his innocence and vulnerability to the point where, if the press reports are accurate, he was ordered to his death by so-called Isis handlers and leaders too cowardly to do their own dirty work. | |
| “We are all naturally utterly devastated and heartbroken by the unspeakable tragedy that now appears to have befallen us.” The family said that Isis did not represent Islam or Muslims “in any way, shape or form”. | |
| Isis statements on Saturday named Britani – Asmal’s nom de guerre – as one of four suicide bombers. The others were said to be a German, a Kuwaiti and a Palestinian. All four were photographed by Isis standing beside SUVs. | Isis statements on Saturday named Britani – Asmal’s nom de guerre – as one of four suicide bombers. The others were said to be a German, a Kuwaiti and a Palestinian. All four were photographed by Isis standing beside SUVs. |
| The suicide attacks are understood to have occurred in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, around one of the country’s largest oil refineries, as part of a larger military offensive by the militant group. | The suicide attacks are understood to have occurred in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, around one of the country’s largest oil refineries, as part of a larger military offensive by the militant group. |
| Shahid Malik, a former government minister and a friend of the Asmals, described them as “a beautiful, caring, peace-loving and incredibly humble family”. | Shahid Malik, a former government minister and a friend of the Asmals, described them as “a beautiful, caring, peace-loving and incredibly humble family”. |
| The former MP for Dewsbury said: “The local community grieves with them today, Ebrahim [the father] and the family’s world has been shattered in the cruellest of ways and one which no family should ever have to experience. | |
| “Talha was a truly sweet-natured, helpful, respectful and friendly kid, and it is incredibly difficult to reconcile this Talha with the suicide bomber at an Iraqi oil installation.” | “Talha was a truly sweet-natured, helpful, respectful and friendly kid, and it is incredibly difficult to reconcile this Talha with the suicide bomber at an Iraqi oil installation.” |
| Charlie Winter, a researcher at counter-extremism thinktank the Quilliam Foundation, said the short amount of time Asmal spent in Syria before he died was an unusual feature of the case. “He was reported to have left the UK in March, now we’re in June and we’re told he has blown himself up – that’s a quick turn around. He was chosen soon after he arrived.” | |
| Isis would have deliberately selected a young British person to act as a suicide bomber as it is more provocative and likely to generate publicity, Winter said. | |
| “They have used young people and children on suicide operations for a while now,” he said. “The youngest I’m aware of is 14. Displaying Talha’s face without a mask, making clear who he is, saying that he was British, they would have calculated this would have caused a media storm.” |