Britain's youngest suicide bomber Talha Asmal has roots in Vadodara and Bharuch districts of Gujarat, setting the state police on a trail to find clues in Kavi and Kamboi villages. Named Yusuf al-Britani by the IS, the 17 year old detonated a vehicle fitted with explosives while fighting in Iraq. The terrorist group statements said Asmal was one of the four suicide bombers in an attack in Salahuddin province, near one of Iraq's largest oil refineries.
A Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Gujarat police went to Masrad looking for relatives of Asmal, whose grandfather Dawood Patel moved to Britain in the early 70s. Asmal’s father, Ismail, was born in Britain. His mother, Noorjahan belongs to Bharuch, and the SOG visited her family, in Kamboi village, too, to record their statement.
Vadodara Range IGP Anupam Singh Gehlot said that while there has been no communication from Britain concerning Asmal, they were trying to determine if the families had been in touch with anyone in their native villages. “Whenever such information is received about a native of the area involved in such activity, we do voluntary verification to understand who they have been in touch with. We have to remain alert,” Gehlot said. He also added that Asmal’s family had last came to their native villages in 2003, and Noorjahan’s relatives had no idea he had joined the IS.
Talha Asmal, of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was described as “a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager” by his devastated family. Qari Asim, an imam of the Makkah Masjid mosque, said “The community is in utter shock and a sense of disbelief that a young lad from Yorkshire is said to become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber. 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. ”
It is believed the boy came in contact with the terrorist organisation, over the internet. He is thought to have fled 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 Hammad Munshi.
The 17 year old boy's family has lashed out at the terrorist group saying, “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. 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.”
The identity of the person has although not yet been verified. The West Yorkshire police said: “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.”
