Gunman f led Britain while on terror charge
A MASKED fanatic who appears in the latest video from Islamic State is believed to be a British Muslim convert who fled to Syria with his family.
Siddhartha Dhar – believed to be an associate of one of Lee Rigby’s killers – was identified by his sister from the Englishaccented voice in the propaganda film.
The 32-year-old was on bail for terror offences when he escaped the UK in 2014, after converting to Islam from Hinduism. The former bouncy castle salesman then posted a picture online of him holding his baby while waving a Kalashnikov, after fleeing with his wife and four children.
In the latest video from IS, an Englishspeaking extremist wears a black mask and stands in a similar pose to the IS executioner Jihadi John – who was killed in November. As speculation over the man’s identity grew yesterday, Dhar’s sister Konika regretfully admitted that his voice sounded ‘just like’ her brother.
‘It sounds how I remember my brother,’ said the 28-year-old student from Walthamstow, East London. ‘I’ve started to think it might be him. When I saw the video and saw him say “Allahu Akbar” and he killed, I cried “Oh my God, what is he doing?”
‘Our family say he’s brought shame on us,’ she added. ‘I can’t tell you the horror I feel. It’s a huge sense of grief and loss.’
However Miss Dhar stressed that she could not be sure that the man was her brother because his physique was different and his eyes weren’t the same. ‘ Although [it] sounds like him, he could have helped with a voiceover,’ she said.
Dhar, who changed his name to Abu Rumaysah after becoming radicalised, was one of nine men detained in September 2014 on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and supporting the banned group AlMuhajiroun. He is also believed to have met Michael Adebolajo, one of Fusilier Rigby’s murderers, as well as being pictured alongside radical preacher Anjem Choudary.
Miss Dhar drew direct comparisons between her brother and Jihadi John, saying: ‘I hate to say it but my brother bears a strong resemblance to [the executioner]. They’ve both got a quiet attitude, but they’re volatile. Those characters are the hardest to defeat because you’ve got to be
clever, and if you say anything wrong, it will produce something horrific.’
Documentary maker Mojtaba Ali, who interviewed Dhar last year, also said he believed the fanatic was the man behind the mask. He told Channel 5: ‘I’d be surprised if it wasn’t him. Judging by his voice, it seems very similar.’
However, others questioned whether the man in the clip really was Dhar.
Adam Deen, from the anti-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, said he had doubts, writing on social media: ‘Is the new Jihadi John Abu Rumaysah? Not so sure.’
And a man in Finland – who claims to be a former IS fighter called Abudullah – suggested that the accent in the video did not match that of Dhar.