British Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Iraq

A British man is behind a suicide bombing that killed eight people, including a top-ranking police officer, in the Iraqi town of Beiji, a counter-extremism analyst has said.

Kabir Ahmed, 32, who is originally from Derby, drove a truck full of explosives into a police convoy, killing himself and eight others, and injuring 15, according to Shiraz Maher of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalism.

Mr Maher posted three photos on Twitter of Ahmed, who went by the pseudonym Abu Sumayyah, claiming he was the man behind the suicide bombing.

He tweeted:

British foreign fighter, Abu Sumayyah, (real name: Kabir Ahmed) from Derby carried out a suicide bombing in Baiji, Iraq, yesterday.

— Shiraz Maher (@ShirazMaher) November 8, 2014

This makes two British suicide bombers in the Syria/Iraq conflict. First was Abu Sulaiman for Jabhat al-Nusrah, now Abu Sumayyah for IS.

— Shiraz Maher (@ShirazMaher) November 8, 2014

Abu Sumayyah (Kabir Ahmed), British suicide bomber in Iraq, was 32, married, and had children.

— Shiraz Maher (@ShirazMaher) November 8, 2014

The Telegraph reports that the attack happened on Friday, when the suicide bomber drove his truck into a convoy headed by Lt Gen Faisal Malik al Zamel, who had been inspecting the local police force. Al Zamel died in the blast, as did seven other officers.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al Zamel was a major commander in the battle to protect Beiji from advancing ISIS forces. A fellow commander said: “We have cleansed many of Beiji’s neighborhoods and we will shortly announce its complete liberation.”