I didn’t realise Isis were this bad, says ‘Hungry Hamza’
Jihadi who moaned about missing KFC wants to come back to Britain
‘Crisps and my Kalashnikov’
A BRITISH Islamic State fighter, once dubbed ‘Hungry Hamza’ because of his love of fast food, wants to return home after claiming he did not realise the depraved nature of the terror group.
Former police cadet Hamza Parvez left his comfortable UK life five years ago to become one of the first Britons to join IS.
However, the 26-year-old finally surrendered to Kurdish forces as the jihadis were defeated and has now given a self-pitying interview from his prison cell in Syria.
Despite once making recruitment videos for IS, the former accountant, from west London, claims he would never have joined up if he had known the horrific reality.
After joining IS in 2014, the former pupil of Holland Park School – known as the ‘socialist Eton’ – appeared in videos where he told British Muslims to follow his example. However, he was soon being mocked after moaning he had to give up his favourite meals from KFC and Nando’s.
The IS fighter admitted he was missing ‘ spicy wings, cake and chips’ and said in another post: ‘Cheese and onion crisps, tropical juice on the floor with my klash [Kalashnikov rifle].’
But he now appears to have repented after being stripped of his British citizenship. He told the BBC: ‘ There were many times where I thought “Time to pack up and leave”. I did try to pack up and leave but the reality was that it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s a small group of very big fish who make all the decisions for all the people.
‘It could be life or death decisions – decisions which change people’s lives completely.’
Asked about IS’s rape, murder, genocide and enslavement, he said: ‘ Anyone in their right mind would never, ever, ever have gone over to join something of that calibre...
‘I didn’t know there was something waiting for me like that. Most of the foreign fighters...the first thing they say to you is, “We would never have come if we had known the realities of IS”.’
During a recruitment film made in 2014, Parvez had said: ‘This is the golden era of jihad.’
In the Middle East he was nicknamed Abu Hamza al-Britani, before he was finally captured outside Baghuz. He is thought to be among 50 British jihadis caught in Syria. He once worked as an accountant for a large hotel chain and journeyed to join IS after persuading his family to finance a ‘study trip’ to Germany. Within weeks of fleeing Britain he was posting online, asking: ‘Are we content with eating Nando’s every week? ‘Come to the land of jihad and shout “Allah”.’ Since joining IS he has lost four stone. During his time with the jihadis he is thought to have met IS British executioner Mohammed Emwazi – nicknamed Jihadi John. While in Syria he married a Canadian-Pakistani woman who is also currently in prison. The couple have two children. Parvez is still believed to have Pakistani citizenship after his family originally came from Lahore. His BBC interviewer Quentin Somerville said he believed Parvez ‘lied extensively’ to him and the full extent of his crimes may never be uncovered.