A family member and another independent source have confirmed to Channel 4 News that the picture, released by Islamic State, is that of Jamal Al-Harith, born Ronald Fiddler, of Manchester.
An Isis statement claimed a man they named as Abu Zakariya al-Britani carried out a suicide attack near the Iraqi city of Mosul, and released an image and video of him in what they described as an “explosives-laden truck”.
Al-Harith’s family say that while he had traveled to an Islamic State group-controlled area, he would not have carried out such an attack.
His release from American detention was secured in 2004 by then-Home Secretary David Blunkett, who said at the time: “I think you’ll find that no one who has returned in the announcement today will actually pose a threat to the security of the British people.”
In addition, the UK Government paid him compensation for his time in detention, reported to be £1 million.
The Muslim convert was born Ronald Fiddler but changed his name to Jamal Udeen Al-Harith.
He was detained in Afghanistan after the US-led invasion on suspicion of being an al-Qaeda fighter, but he maintained he had been on a religious holiday in Pakistan immediately before the invasion.
Jamal Udeen al-Harith, 50, splashed out on the smartly decorated family home in a quiet street in April 2011, just three years before he fled to Syria to join Isis. He had lived there with his wife Shukee Begum and their four children. according to Daily Mail.
