Social media accounts with verifiable contacts to Islamic State (IS) are reporting that a 17 year-old man from Yorkshire, UK, detonated a VBIED (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) in a suicide attack in the town of Baiji, Salahaddin Province.
Identified by IS as Abu Yusuf al-Britani, he is thought to be Talha Asmal, who flew to Turkey with a friend in March this year, before crossing the border into Syria to join IS.
West Yorkshire police could not confirm that the attacker was Asmal. “The police have been made aware of media reports with regard to the death of a British national in Iraq. The identity of the person who has reportedly died has not been confirmed at this time and we are unable to comment further.”
On Saturday, IS-affiliated accounts released the photos of four men stood by 4x4s, ready to undertake suicide missions. The others were said to be from Kuwait, Germany and Palestine.
If confirmed, Asmal will have been the youngest suicide bomber to come from the UK.
