20 year-old first white British youth to join ISIS
The first white British youth to join ISIS in Syria has been revealed to be the middle-class 20-year-old son of an organic farmer from Oxford, UK.
Jack Letts, now known as Ibrahim or by the name Abu Muhammed, lied to his parents that he was going to study Arabic in Kuwait before secretly travelling to Syria, arriving in September 2014 when he was 18.
According to a report in MailOnline, 'Jihadi Jack' is now a frontline fighter for the brutal terror group and lives with his Iraqi wife and his son Muhammed in the Iraqi city of Fallujah having earlier lived in Raqqa, Syria.
His father, John, an organic farmer and archaeobotanist and his mother, Sally, a books editor, are said to be extremely concerned for his safety.
Letts attended Cherwell School in Oxford, where his friends said he was a keen sportsman and avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club.
One of his old school friends described him as a 'classroom clown' who was well liked among his peers. Before he converted to Islam, Jack drank alcohol and occasionally smoked cannabis with his friends. He was also a fan of graffiti art, specifically Banksy, friends said.
'He was liked by a lot of the students. That's why this whole thing of him going to live in Syria and join Isis doesn't make any sense,' the friend told The Sunday Times.
It is thought Jack began to take an interest in the Middle East during the Arab Spring in 2011. Prior to converting to Islam, Jack was an atheist and appeared to have little interest in religion despite being christened as a child.
He went to start learning Arabic and attended the Madina Masjid, a mosque near his home in Oxford, changing his name to Ibrahim - the Arabic version of his original middle name Abraham.
Several of Jack's friends have claimed that the 20-year-old was radicalised in a private prayer meetings and the mosque was not responsible for the hardening of his views.
Upon leaving for Syria, Jack lied to his parents and told them he was moving to Kuwait. Unknown to his family, he had already made contact with a ISIS recruiter over social media.
MailOnline reported that upon reaching Syria, Letts met fellow British ISIS fighter, Omar Hussain, also known as the Supermarket jihadi.
Despite his care in trying to hide his identity, Jack posted several photos of himself posing with weapons, thought have been taken near the Tabqa dam in Syria.
The transition from Oxford schoolboy to ISIS jihadist has shocked his old friends from school, some of whom have nicknamed him 'Jihadi Jack'.
His family reportedly refused to comment when approach last week. But a source close to the family told the Sunday Times: 'His mother and father were extremely worried for his safety after he told them that he was in Syria.
'The past two years have been a real nightmare for them. They just wish he can be back home with them.'
The source also said Jack had expressed an interest in living under Shariah law shortly before he left for Syria.
More than 750 Britons have travelled to Iraq or Syria to join ISIS. Up to 100 of those have been killed.
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