Pictures of Talha Asmal, 17, were released by Isis on Saturday, along with a statement saying that he detonated a vehicle fitted with explosives in the northern Iraqi town of Baiji. The militant group said his name was Abu Yusuf al-Britani but following media reports identifying the boy in the pictures as Asmal, his family released a statement on Sunday expressing their grief and anger.Talha was a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager,” they said. “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.
“Whilst there it appears that Talha fell under the spell of individuals who continued to prey on his innocence and vulnerability to the point where if the press reports are accurate he was ordered to his death by so-called Isis handlers and leaders too cowardly to do their own dirty work.
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“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 of form”.
In April, they said the teenager boarded a flight to Turkey with his friend Hassan Munshi, also 17 at the time. The families of both boys issued an urgent appeal for their return, adding they were gravely worried the pair had joined Isis.
Isis statements on Saturday named Britani as one of four suicide bombers. The others were said to be a German, a Kuwaiti and a Palestinian. All four were photographed by Isis standing beside SUVs.
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