Family of Brit ISIS suicide bomber Jamal al-Harith claim Guantanamo Bay ‘changed’ him and that none of them could have stopped him
Jamal Al-Harith, born Ronald Fiddler before his conversion to Islam in 1992, was identified by family members from a photograph issued by the terror group
THE FAMILY of British ISIS suicide bomber Jamal al-Harith claim Guantanamo Bay "changed" him and that none of them could have stopped him.
Jamal Al-Harith, born Ronald Fiddler before his conversion to Islam in 1992, was identified by family members from a photograph issued by the terror group.
He was filmed at the wheel of a truck packed with explosives which he was said to have driven into a military base near Mosul on Monday.
The Manchester-born terrorist, 50, had been gifted a seven-figure taxpayers' sum after being released from the infamous US detention centre in 2004.
It followed a high profile campaign by the then Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett for him to be let out — just two years after he was captured by US troops in Afghanistan.
His family today denied he had received compensation and in a statement to the BBC, they said they believed the claimed figure of £1 million was wide of the mark and referred to a group settlement made to four ex-detainees - including al-Harith - and included their costs.
They blamed his treatment at Guantanamo Bay, where he was held by the Americans, for his subsequent involvement with IS.
The statement said: "The Jamal they knew up until 2001 when he was taken to Guantanamo Bay would not have become involved with a despicable organisation such as so-called IS.
"He was a peaceful and gentle person.
"Whatever he may or may not have done since then they believe from their own experience he was utterly changed by the physical and mental cruelty and the inhuman treatment he endured for two years at Guantanamo."
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair also hit back at claims his Labour government handed over the cash.
He said: "It is correct that Jamal al-Harith was released from Guantanamo Bay at the request of the British Government in 2004.
"He was not paid compensation by my Government. The compensation was agreed in 2010 by the Conservative Government.
"The fact is that this was always a very difficult situation where any Government would have to balance proper concern for civil liberties with desire to protect our security, and we were likely to be attacked whatever course we took."
Mr Blunkett said at the time: "No one who is returned… will actually be a threat to the security of the British people.”
The dad-of-five had denied being an extremist, claiming he had been a Taliban hostage when he was picked up by American soldiers in Kandahar and taken to the high security prison in Cuba.
Now former prime minister Tony Blair is under fire for the reported lobbying by his government for the Guantanamo Bay prisoner's release.
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Tory MP Tim Loughton told : "So much for Tony Blair's assurances that this extremist did not pose a security threat.
"He clearly was a risk to Britain and our security all along."
Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh added: "This raises serious questions about the reassurances Labour gave us that this man posed no danger.
"It is a kick in the teeth that he was given a fortune in taxpayers’ money after claiming he was innocent only to flee to Islamic State and pose a risk to the UK."
Today Al-Harith's brother Leon Jameson, 53, told The Times his brother had "wasted his life" and added: "It is him, I can tell by his smile."
After his release he fled the UK to fight in Syria as militants swept across the region in 2014.
It was only revealed he had gone to join ISIS when his British wife Shukee Begum fled the territory having failed to convince him to come home.
His brother Brian Jameson told The Sun: “Ronald’s a good bloke. He’s kind and caring — nothing like the man who would do this.
"I know he had become more extremist over the years but I spoke to him a few months back and he seemed just like the brother I knew. I’m devastated.”
His ex-wife refused to answer questions about the terrorist this morning.
First wife Debbie Odoffin refused to comment at her home in north London.
WEBSITE DESIGNER AND TEACHER WHO TURNED TO TERROR
Jamal al Harith was born Ronald Fiddler to devout, churchgoing Jamaican parents, before turning to Islam in the 1990s and changing his name.
The former website designer, also known as Jamal Udeen, was suspected of terrorism after travelling to the Pakistani city of Quetta in 2001 for what he claimed was a religious holiday.
He said he tried to enter Iran when the US invaded neighbouring Afghanistan, but was captured and imprisoned by the Taliban on suspicion of being a UK spy.
The 50-year-old had been away from his Manchester home for three weeks when he was captured by US forces, reportedly while being held in Kandahar jail, and taken to Guantanamo Bay.
He was released in March 2004 with four other British detainees from the internment camp in Cuba, where they had been held for up to two years over alleged links to al Qaida and the Taliban.
The five were flown back to the UK, and he was freed when the plane carrying the suspects touched down on British soil.
He was the only one of the five British detainees to be allowed to go free immediately, without facing further questioning by police.
At the time of his release, his family said he was a gentle, quiet man who rarely spoke of his faith unless asked, and a devoted father of three.
After four years learning Arabic and teaching English at Khartoum University in Sudan, he seemed happy enough to return home, marrying and setting up a computer business with his wife.
He was said to be devastated when the marriage reportedly broke down.
In October 2015, concerns were raised when it was claimed he had travelled to join IS fighters in Syria in early 2014.
His wife Shukee Begum reportedly took her five children to Syria to try to "speak some sense" into him in August 2014.
The then 33-year-old, from Manchester, told Channel 4 News a year later that she wanted her husband to be with their children, including a four-week-old baby he had not seen.
Despite his decision to join IS, Ms Begum insisted her husband of 11 years was a "family man", adding: "I've always known him to be a good man with good characteristics.
"For me to take the children to see him and then come away from there, that would have been more powerful than anything else I could have said at the time."
Chilling footage of his attack shows a pack of suicide cars stuffed with bombs and encased in armour travelling near Mosul.
It later shows another fighter cheering before he shuts the driver-side door and pulls off.
Moments later giant clouds of smoke can be seen in the distance.
At least two of the jihadis managed to reach a base west of the city where they detonated their explosives — killing and injuring a number of troops, the Iraqi soldiers said.
The extremists later released a statement saying: "The martyrdom-seeking brother Abu Zakariya al-Britani — may Allah accept him — detonated his explosives-laden vehicle on a headquarters of the Rafidhi army and its militias in Tal Kisum village, southwest of Mosul."
Fiddler's wife, Shukee Begum, reportedly took her five children to Syria to try and "speak some sense" into her husband in August 2014.
The then 33-year-old from Manchester told Channel 4 News a year later that she had wanted her husband to be with their children, including a four-week-old baby who he had not seen before.
Despite Fiddler's decision to join IS, Ms Begum insisted that her husband of 11 years was a "family man", adding: "I've always known him to be a good man with good characteristics.
"For me to take the children to see him and then come away from there that would have been more powerful than anything else I could have said at the time."
The end of his fighting name — al-Britani — is commonly used by ISIS to identify jihadists from Britain.
But the Foreign Office has said due to the nature of the conflict it is unable to fully verify dead Brit fighters.
A spokesperson told The Sun: "As all UK consular services are suspended in Syria and greatly limited in Iraq, it is extremely difficult to confirm the whereabouts and status of British Nationals in these areas.”
It is estimated that about 850 British citizens have fled the country and travelled to Syria or Iraq to join the terror group.
Iraqi forces have been waging war with ISIS fighters in Mosul since last October, when a massive US-led offensive was launched to re-capture the terror stronghold.
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