London : A young man from the British port city of Portsmouth who went to fight in Syria for the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has been reportedly killed on the frontline in Syria.
Mehdi Hassan, 19, travelled to Syria with five other men from southern Portsmouth in October last year, media reported Saturday.
“It has been confirmed with the family that he has died. Right now they are very upset,” said Abdul Jalil, chairman of the Portsmouth Jami Mosque.
Meanwhile, the British foreign office said it had not received any reports about Hassan’s death but was aware of reports about the death of a British national in Syria, Xinhua reported.
Hassan is the fourth man from Britain who was killed in the fighting. The last reported death was of Manunur Roshid, 24, who was killed in fighting on the Syrian frontline. His death had been confirmed by a mosque earlier on Tuesday.
Iftekar Jaman, 23, and Hamidur Rahman were confirmed dead in December and August 2013, respectively.
Mashudur Choudhury, 31, was arrested when he returned to Britain at Gatwick Airport in May. He was the first person in the country to be convicted of terror offences in connection with the conflict in Syria.
Assad Uzzaman, 25, is believed to be still fighting in Syria with the IS.
British media said an estimated 500 British people have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join the IS, while a study suggested that 24 Britons are believed to have died.