Siddhartha Dhar a senior commander of IS: News report : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Siddhartha Dhar a senior commander of IS: News report

LONDON: Siddhartha Dhar, the Islamic State terrorist of Indian origin from Britain who has dubbed as the ‘New Jihadi John’, is a senior commander of the dreaded outfit, according a media report claims.



London, May 2

Siddhartha Dhar, the Islamic State terrorist of Indian origin from Britain who has dubbed as the ‘New Jihadi John’, is a senior commander of the dreaded outfit, according a media report claims.

Nihad Barakat, a Yazidi teenager held as a sex slave by the group, was quoted as saying by the Independent that she was kidnapped and trafficked by Siddhartha, who is now based in Mosul, the group's Iraqi stronghold.

Siddhartha, a British Hindu who converted to Islam and now goes by the name Abu Rumaysah, had skipped police bail in the UK to travel to Syria with his wife and young children in 2014.

In an interview for a new documentary series for UK-based British Muslim TV about life on the frontline in Iraq, Barakat said Siddhartha was among the foreign fighters who enslaved her.

"When I was captured near Kirkuk, they took me to another leader from Mosul. His name was Abu Dhar. He also took Yazidi girls for himself. Every day, he would tell me that I had to marry another man," she said.

The newspaper admits that while it is difficult to verify whether "Abu Dhar" is the same man as the most-wanted British terror suspect, the documentary's presenter said he was "very confident" Barakat was referring to Siddhartha.

"From the information I have, Siddhartha is deemed a leader in Mosul now, and she was very insistent on that name. When we showed her pictures of Siddhartha she recognised them but went very cold. She didn't want to go further and got very agitated," said presenter Joseph Hayat.

Londoner Siddhartha is believed to have replaced Mohammed Emwazi, known as 'Jihadi John' before he was killed in a drone strike, as the masked apparent executioner of western hostages in ISIS propaganda videos.

His sister, Konika Dhar, had appeared at a hearing before a House of Commons Home Affairs Committee— which was trying to establish the possibility of Siddhartha being the masked man who appeared in an ISIS propaganda video showing "British spies" being executed — earlier this year.

"I'm still holding to the firm belief that what I'm seeing is not him – and I haven't had verification otherwise. It's sort of the realisation that 'is he really my brother that has done this?’ and I can't accept that he would ever do that. I can't accept it," the London-based law student had said.

Siddhartha had six previous arrests while in the UK and was free on bail when he was able to escape from the UK via Paris.

British police reportedly wrote to Siddhartha’s UK address to remind him of the need to surrender his passport, by which point he was already in Syria.

"What a shoddy security system Britain must have to allow me to breeze through Europe to (ISIS)," he tweeted on his arrival in Islamic State territories. — PTI

Top News

‘Watershed moment for our society’: CJI Chandrachud on enactment of three new criminal justice laws

‘Watershed moment for our society’: CJI Chandrachud on enactment of three new criminal justice laws

CJI says much-needed improvements have been introduced to pr...

PM Modi targets Rahul Gandhi, says after Amethi, Congress' ‘sahabzade’ will lose Wayanad seat also

PM Modi targets Rahul Gandhi, says after Amethi, Congress' ‘sahabzade’ will lose Wayanad seat also

Modi says some INDIA bloc leaders left Lok Sabha and moved t...

US sanctions Chinese suppliers for providing critical components of Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme

US sanctions Chinese suppliers for providing critical components of Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme

As a result of the action, all property and interests in pro...

Singapore’s Indian-origin minister Balakrishnan receives extortion letter with fake obscene photos

Singapore’s Indian-origin minister Balakrishnan receives extortion letter with fake obscene photos

There have been over 70 police reports since March about suc...


Cities

View All