Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Is This The Islamic State's Youngest Suicide Bomber?

Shocking pictures have emerged on social media showing what could be the Islamic State’s youngest suicide bomber.

The boy has been named as Abu al-Hassan al-Shami, a Syrian fighter who appears to be no older than 14 years old.

In a photo series, entitled 'Battle of Vengeance for the Mother of the Believers (Aisha)', the youngster is thought to be one of two Syrian fighters, who carried out a suicide truck bombings in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin.

He is shown sitting in the driver’s seat of the large lorry filled with barrels of explosives.

The vehicle has been reinforced with plated armour, leaving the young driver with only a small rectangular window to navigate the final journey for his deadly vehicle.

In his hands, the young fighter appears to be playing with a hand grenade and the barrel of his AK-47 rifle can be seen resting near the steering wheel between his legs.

Whilst his age has yet to be independently verified, it is possible that al-Shami could be the Islamic State’s youngest suicide bomber in Iraq.

It is unclear whether video footage will be subsequently released with a final testimony of the young fighter.

A final image shows a huge explosion after the detonation of the lorry, killing him and a number of Iraqi security forces. The attack happened near the ancient Iraqi city of Samarra, currently still held by the Iraqi army.

It also shows a big ball of fire erupting into the orange sky, with pieces of shrapnel flying in all directions across the arid landscape.

One ISIS supporter on social media commented: ‘Abu al-Hassan al-Shami the martyr. His youth doesn’t stop him from supporting his religion.’

The news of the Syrian boy’s suicide bomb attack in Samarra comes just hours after ISIS released a new video showing the detonation of a lorry bomb in the same area.

Entitled ‘The Chink of Swords’, the video shows what is thought to be a British fighter, known by the nom de guerre of Abu Abdullah al-Britani, climbing into a heavy armoured vehicle.

Taking care to hide his face from the camera, the man, wearing a pair of white trainers, is shown athletically climbing up the side of the armoured plating and jumping into the vehicle via a small entrance in the roof.

Upon starting the engine, al-Britani begins to drive off down the asphalt covered road. A lone ISIS fighter, not wearing a full uniform, comes out and begins to wave the Islamic State flag as al-Britani makes his final journey.

Finally, the footage shows a huge explosion, with a large plume of grey smoke rising from the impact of the blast.

It is thought that it could be the same Abu Abdullah al-Britani, whose photo was released in early December stating he had carried out a deadly lorry bomb attack in Samarra.

According to Islamic State linked media account at the time, Al-Battar Media Foundation, al-Britani killed ‘dozens of apostates’, thought to be Iraqi police officers manning a roadside checkpoint near Samarra’s al-Mu’tasim district.

Back in early December, a photo was released showing a fighter, named as Abu Abdullah al-Britani, posing next to an armoured truck bomb distinctively similar to the one in the video.

It is likely that the new video footage of Abu Abdullah al-Britani blowing himself up in a lorry bomb is the same man who died in early December.

Officials and analysts have been unable to independently confirm the identity of the man in the video or the photo.

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