MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) — A British teenager was killed in Syria in a battle near the northwestern city of Aleppo, fighting on the side of Islamist militants, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
“I don’t have much detail, but I know he was killed in a battle, it appears against Assad’s forces somewhere near Aleppo. It is a sad loss. What can I say? Words cannot help,” the boy’s father, Abu-Bakr Deghayes is cited as saying by the newspaper.
The 17-year-old Jaffar Deghayes was killed just six months after his brother, 18-year-old Abdullah Deghayes, was died while fighting in the Syrian province of Latakia, The Telegraph said. The boys' uncle, Omar Deghayes, was held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp between 2002 and 2007 after being arrested as an enemy combatant in Pakistan.
The UK government has expressed concern over the dangers posed by European extremists upon their return from Syria and Iraq. According to various estimates, around 500 UK citizens have joined the ranks of Islamic State and up to 30 have been killed in Syria and Iraq.
