Britain's Youngest Suicide Bomber Was 'Brainwashed', Say Community Members

A 17-year-old from northern England has become the UK's youngest known suicide bomber, reigniting the debate about how British teenagers are becoming enamored with the Islamic State (IS).

Talha Asmal was reportedly one of four bombers who killed at least 11 people in Baiji, north of Baghdad, on Saturday.

The teenager hailed from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and was reportedly going by the name Abu Yusuf al-Britani when the attack was carried out.

Talha Asmal: teen 'becomes Britain's youngest suicide bomber' http://t.co/Iwsx6DKlsl pic.twitter.com/WJGUtdtxWV

— The Week UK (@TheWeekUK) June 15, 2015

After learning of the reports and seeing photos purportedly of Asmal released by IS, his family issued a statement saying it would appear that their son had been groomed in a deliberate and calculated manner, by people who exploited his "tender years and naivety."

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The statement began: "Late yesterday evening some news outlets via their online platforms carried a story that a young Britain had been killed whilst with ISIS in Iraq.

"Although the information within these reports has not been confirmed and the relevant UK authorities are working hard to verify the facts, we can confirm that the photographs shown of a youth purportedly named Abu Yusuf Al Britany appear to show our 17 year old son Talha.

"Talha comes from a close knit, hardworking, peace-loving and law-abiding British Muslim family. The entire family unreservedly condemns and abhors all acts of violence wherever perpetrated.

"Talha himself was a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager. He never harboured any ill will against anybody nor did he ever exhibit any violent, extreme or radical views of any kind.

"We are all naturally utterly devastated and heartbroken by the unspeakable tragedy that now appears to have befallen us."

The family continues, noting that they would like to take the opportunity to state: "'ISIS' are not Islam. "They do not represent in any way, shape or form Islam and Muslims and we are no longer prepared to allow a barbaric group like 'ISIS' to hijack our faith."

The statement finished by asking for privacy and urging anyone with concerns about their family members to go to the police.

Asmal is believed to have traveled to Turkey in March, with a friend, Hassan Munshi, who was also 17. The two boys flew out of Manchester airport. Their families later issued a joint statement in which they appealed for more information about their sons, who they said had "promising futures" ahead of them.

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The revelations about Asmal's role in Saturday's murders have reignited a heated discussion about young Muslims in the UK, and the factors that can motivate them to travel to Syria or Iraq.

Qari Asim, an imam at the Makkah Masjid mosque in Leeds, told BBC's Today program he believed young people were being "manipulated and brainwashed" by "internet groomers."

However "taking your own life in terms of suicide and harming others cannot be condoned by any religion, including Islam," he said.

Asim, speaking on Monday morning, said that the community was in "disbelief" that a "young lad from Yorkshire" would have committed such an act.

Religion was "a unique passion," he said, "and as a result the hate preachers, internet groomers, they tend to use that passion to manipulate young minds for their own political aims and gains. For young people the world isn't as sophisticated and as complicated as perhaps for an adult, and as a result they might have been sold a dream that ISIS have established a state — a very romantic, utopian dream — and as a result young people from Britain or from across the globe might be interested in going there or helping in the formation of that state."

The reality was that IS's murderous tactics were "an affront to human dignity and it's an insult to God," he added.

Meanwhile, Dewsbury councilor Masood Ahmed told the BBC the community was "devastated."

"He was no different from any other teenager in terms of being loving, caring, naive, innocent. He loved sport, he was doing OK in school," Ahmed said.

"I would say that the vast majority of young Muslims born in this country would identify as British. Where I think that there is some confusion on their part is that obviously they are also Muslims and they want to be close to their religion, and somehow they are seeking answers about their identity and about how they should behave as Muslims," said Ahmed. "Somehow these groups are able to tap into that curiosity and answer their questions and provide something which appears glamorous and appealing to them, and it gives them a cause which they can literally fight for."

Before Asmal, the youngest British suicide bomber was Hasib Hussein, who was 18 when he carried out one of the July 7, 2005, suicide attacks on London public transport.

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