Missing Briton says he ‘settled’ in Isil’s capital
A BRITON whose family made emotional appeals on social media and with missing persons’ charities after he vanished two years ago has reportedly reappeared close to the Syrian border, claiming he has been living in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
Stefan Aristidou vanished on a 2015 trip to Cyprus, prompting his family in Enfield, north London, to issue a series of public appeals to trace their son.
He has now resurfaced in the Turkish town of Kilis, some three miles from the Syrian border and about 43 miles from Aleppo, The
Guardian reported. Mr Aristidou, 23, is said to have told Turkish authorities that he did not travel to Syria to fight with any group but to “settle” in Raqqa. The Foreign Office in London last night confirmed it was “in contact with the Turkish authorities following the detention of a British man on the Turkey/Syria border”.
Neighbours of the Aristidou family said the son had adopted Islamic dress and started attending a mosque before his disappearance.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said the family never spoke of their son after he disappeared.
But she added: “I had a feeling he had gone somewhere like that.”
Around 800 Britons are estimated to have journeyed to take part in the Syrian civil war, with many ending up fighting for jihadist groups such as Isil.
It came as sources within Isil confirmed its numbers in Syria are depleting as large numbers of foreign fighters and sympathisers abandon the terror group as ground offensives continue.
Reyaad Khan, 21, from Cardiff – killed by a 2015 RAF drone strike near Raqqa – was plotting attacks that threatened “a very significant loss of life” in Britain, MPs on the Intelligence and Security Committee found.