London: Years after claiming that he had spent his time in the country "playing computer games," a former British school student who vanished while on a family vacation to Turkey has admitted to travelling there to join Daesh, Sky News reported.
Shabazz Suleman, who went by the name Abu Shamil Al-Britani, claimed that after going missing in 2014 while on a family vacation at the age of 19, months before he was scheduled to start his university studies, he volunteered for a Turkish NGO.
However, the former grammar school student was detained by Turkish authorities and traded to Daesh in a prisoner swap. As part of the exchange, the terrorist organisation also freed 47 detained Turkish diplomats.
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Suleman initially gave the impression that he supported Daesh's activities when, in the beginning of 2015, he posted a message endorsing the murderers of Charlie Hebdo. "There are so many brothers waiting for the order to launch attacks against the West," he said.
Suleman also shared pictures of a purported spy who had allegedly been crucified and beheaded by the group. However, the former student was detained and imprisoned in Raqqa later that year after becoming frustrated with Daesh's treatment of local Muslims.
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Suleman claimed that he "gave in" and offered to work for Daesh in exchange for his release after witnessing the abuse and torture of other prisoners. As a result, he was hired by Daesh's unofficial military police, which was in charge of maintaining control over the local populace in areas under its control.
But he asserted that his job involved nothing more than sitting in an office and playing video games while at work in a 2017 interview with Sky News. Then, while residing in Daesh-held territory, he went into hiding, making a PlayStation purchase and "watching Netflix, 'House of Cards' mostly."
Suleman was apprehended by anti-regime forces in 2017 on the Syrian border, despite his desire to serve a prison sentence back in the UK in exchange for his return.
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At the time, he said to Sky News: "I take responsibility. I belonged to a terrorist group called Daesh. I hope I didn't oppress anyone, but I didn't kill anyone.
I did wear a military uniform and have a Kalashnikov, but I didn't hit or oppress anyone, if you get what I mean. Even though I was there with the military police, I was actually in the office. Suleman was arrested in the UK in late 2021 after his release and was charged with several terrorist offences.