British jihadis 'handed back to IS in prisoner swap'

MONDAY 06 OCTOBER 2014
Two Britons suspected of being jihadis, including one who until May was studying for his A-levels, are understood to have been part of a prisoner swap between Turkey and Islamic State.

Shabazz Suleman, 18, and Hisham Folkard, 26, are thought to have been among up to 180 fighters reportedly returned to Islamic State by Turkey in return for Turkish consular staff captured when IS stormed the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in June.

The Britons' names were on a leaked list passed to the Times newspaper. The list is said to include the names of citizens from other European countries, including three from France, two from Sweden, two from Macedonia, and one from Switzerland and Belgium.

However, there has been no confirmation that the Britons were among the Turkey-held prisoners.

Humanitarian aid

Mr Suleman had been studying at the Royal Grammar School (RGS) in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire until May of this year, when he took study leave ahead of his A-levels. He has not been seen since.

RGS headmaster Roy Page said on 3 October that Mr Suleman had undertaken voluntary work in Syria last year.

"In the summer of 2013, Shabazz made a trip to Syria as a member of a convoy that delivered humanitarian aid to the people of Aleppo as part of a Turkish charity," he said in a statement on the school website.

Counter-terrorism officers contacted the father of Hisham Folkard in August in connection with his brother, Omar, according to the Times. Omar Hisham is said to be known to the security services.

Plea to IS

In a separate development, the parents of Abdul-Rahman Kassig - formerly known as Peter - have released a film pleading with Islamic State to release their son (see above).

Mr Kassig, a US citizen, appeared in an IS video released last week showing the beheading of UK hostage Alan Henning. It ends with a threat to kill the American.

In the film, Ed Kassig, the hostage's father, says his son was taken captive in Syria on 1 October 2013, where he was providing aid for refugees fleeing the country's civil war through an organisation he founded.

The Kassigs also released a letter written by their son in June and sent while he was in captivity. In it he says: "I am obviously pretty scared to die but the hardest part is not knowing, wondering, hoping and wondering if I should even hope at all."

Abuld-Rahman Kassig is thought to have converted to Islam while in captivity. In a statement, his parents say they understand he became a Muslim voluntarily late last year while sharing a cell with a devout Muslim.