ISIS document leak: 'Good Christian boy' revealed as British jihadist

A British former "church boy" was among the 1,763 ISIS jihadists whose recruitment forms were leaked this week.

Details of Fasil Towalde, who was killed while fighting for ISIS in Syria, have been revealed after his recruitment papers were among the ISIS documents handed to Sky News yesterday.

Towalde was a 21-year-old student from Camden, London, who crossed from Turkey into northern Syria on December 28, 2013 and was re-named Abdullah al-Habashi, according to the documents.

He was killed eleven months later fighting Kurdish troops for control of the Syrian border town Kobane.

On his registration form – which consists of 23 questions – he wrote his mother's first name and gave an address in Camden, where she lived.

Speaking to the Telegraph, his mother, Himan Haile, described her son as a "good Christian boy" who grew up in London, having fled violence in Eritrea.

article,article,article Related

"I am a Christian, I go to church. My child is a church boy. The bad thing is Islam," she said. Towalde was arrested during the London riots, became involved in a gang and was converted to Islam in prison, she added.

"He died for what? I don't know. Every day I cry, in the morning, in the night," she said.

There were 16 British jihadists revealed among the leaked files, at least five of whom are thought to have been killed in the last three years.

A disillusioned former member of the militant group, who called himself Abu Hamed, handed documents to Sky News on a memory stick stolen from the head of Islamic State's internal security force.

Originally a member of the Free Syrian Army, Hamed later joined ISIS but has now left the group, claiming "the Islamic rules he believed have totally collapsed inside the organisation," Sky reported.

The documents looked like enrolment forms with 23 questions and contained names of Islamic State supporters and of their relatives, telephone numbers, hometown and blood group and other details such as the subjects' areas of expertise and who had recommended them.

related articles
Islamic State is targeting children to secure the future of the \'caliphate\'
Islamic State is targeting children to secure the future of the 'caliphate'

Islamic State is targeting children to secure the future of the 'caliphate'

Leaked documents purportedly reveal names of 22,000 ISIS members

Leaked documents purportedly reveal names of 22,000 ISIS members

'We were beaten and raped continuously for two weeks': 17-year-old Yazidi girl reveals life in ISIS captivity

'We were beaten and raped continuously for two weeks': 17-year-old Yazidi girl reveals life in ISIS captivity

News
Shavuot - the festival of second chances
Shavuot - the festival of second chances

Hebrew scholar and Jewish academic Irene Lancaster unpacks the Jewish perspective of Shavuot - the festival known to Christians as Pentecost. 

Could a hidden bias toward religion exist among atheists?
Could a hidden bias toward religion exist among atheists?

A new study led by Dr Will Gervais, Reader in Psychology at Brunel University London, suggests that even committed atheists in some of the world’s most secular societies may intuitively favour religion over atheism. 

Just another unsung saint?
Just another unsung saint?

Big-hearted and charismatic, Subhir cut a splendid dash when he turned up for supper on his Harley-Davidson, complete with motor-cycling leathers.

Churches getting ready for major nationwide prayer initiative over Pentecost
Churches getting ready for major nationwide prayer initiative over Pentecost

In the lead-up to Pentecost weekend, 6 to 8 June, churches throughout the UK are preparing for a 36-hour, round-the-clock prayer event, marking a significant part of the broader Shine Your Light 2025 evangelism initiative.