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Family 'heartbroken' after British man appears in jihadist film Briton's jihad video leaves family 'heartbroken'
(about 5 hours later)
The father of a British man who has appeared in a video aimed at recruiting jihadists has said he is "heartbroken" his son left the UK to fight in Syria.The father of a British man who has appeared in a video aimed at recruiting jihadists has said he is "heartbroken" his son left the UK to fight in Syria.
In the film, would-be medical student Nasser Muthana, 20, from Cardiff, urges others to fight in Syria and Iraq.In the film, would-be medical student Nasser Muthana, 20, from Cardiff, urges others to fight in Syria and Iraq.
His father, Ahmed Muthana, told the BBC his other son had gone with Nasser, and that someone must be "driving" them. His father, Ahmed Muthana, told the BBC his younger son had also gone to Syria.
UK police are trying to get the film, posted by accounts linked to Islamist militant group Isis, taken off-line. The BBC understands two men who travelled with Nasser were held on suspicion of terror-related offences on their return to the UK but not charged.
The 13-minute video, entitled There is No Life Without Jihad, emerged on Friday and appears to show six fighters - apparently including three Britons - urging Muslims to join the conflicts abroad. South Wales Police said the men, aged 19 and 23 and from Cardiff, were arrested earlier this year on suspicion of receiving terrorist training and attending a place used for terrorist training in Syria.
Sir Peter Fahy, who leads on the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy for the Association of Chief Police Officers, told the BBC 500 British fighters were thought to be in the region and that some estimates put the number even higher, with the true figure still unknown. Father's 'coffin' fear
It has previously been estimated that 400 - 500 Britons have been recruited by the now-outlawed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), which has a significant presence in Syria and is engaged in fierce fighting with Iraqi government forces. Mr Muthana - whose son Nasser appears in the footage using the name Abu Muthanna al-Yemen - told BBC Wales his 17-year-old younger son, Aseel, had also travelled to the country.
The BBC has learned that tracking British jihadists fighting in Syria is now the top priority for MI5. He said another man in the video, which cannot be verified, was someone he recognised from Cardiff.
Radicalised The footage emerged after Isis militants made rapid advances through Iraq in recent weeks, seizing several northern cities and surrounding the country's biggest refinery.
Mr Muthana - whose son Nasser appears in the footage using the name Abu Muthanna al-Yemen - told BBC Wales that he feared his sons would "come back to me in a coffin". Mr Muthana told the BBC he feared his sons would "come back to me in a coffin".
He told the BBC his 17-year-old younger son, Aseel, had also travelled to Syria and that another man in the video was someone he recognised from Cardiff. Asked about the video in which Nasser Muthana appears, he said: "I'm sad that he's gone without telling me he's going. He disappeared and, when I saw it on the television, I thought, 'What is he doing there?'"
Asked about the video in which Nasser appears, he said: "I'm sad that he's gone without telling me he's going. He disappeared and, when I saw it on the television, I thought, 'What is he doing there?'"
He described his son - who had been offered places by four universities to study medicine - as quiet, well-educated and intelligent.He described his son - who had been offered places by four universities to study medicine - as quiet, well-educated and intelligent.
Nasser had left home in November, saying he was going to Leicester or Shrewsbury to study, said Mr Muthana.Nasser had left home in November, saying he was going to Leicester or Shrewsbury to study, said Mr Muthana.
"I received a phone call saying that he's in Turkey and that's it." He said he feared his son had now been radicalised."I received a phone call saying that he's in Turkey and that's it." He said he feared his son had now been radicalised.
"I don't think that's Nasser talking, it's someone else is teaching him to talk like this because the attitude of Nasser is 100% completely different," he said."I don't think that's Nasser talking, it's someone else is teaching him to talk like this because the attitude of Nasser is 100% completely different," he said.
"Who led them to go there? Is he going to kill or do anything?"Who led them to go there? Is he going to kill or do anything?
"Someone is driving those kids to do this problem. Ask those sheiks to send their sons and daughters to fight. They only send other people's children, making a problem for the whole community.""Someone is driving those kids to do this problem. Ask those sheiks to send their sons and daughters to fight. They only send other people's children, making a problem for the whole community."
'Top priority' Barak Al Bayaty, a trustee for one of the Cardiff mosques attended by Nasser Muthana, said he may have been radicalised via the internet.
The video cannot be verified, but BBC correspondent Paul Adams said it was probably filmed in Syria. He said spiritual leaders at the mosque were opposed to going to Syria to participate in an armed struggle - and had made this clear.
The footage emerged after Isis militants made rapid advances through Iraq in recent weeks, seizing several northern cities and surrounding the country's biggest refinery. Mr Al Bayaty said the issue needed to be addressed by the community as a whole.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said its fighters are plotting terror attacks on the UK. "I'm a parent. We are alarmed, we are alarmed for our fellow citizens," he said.
Sir Peter Fahy said Britain could not be "naive" about groups such as Isis possibly deciding to attack the West. He warned against "demonising the Muslim community itself", adding that "the vast majority of Muslim people are really worried about this situation and are working with us to try and identify those people that may be at risk".
"This isn't just a police issue, it's about working with schools, youth organisations, even people in the NHS. It's about trying to get the whole community to identify people who may be thinking about going to Syria. Sir Peter Fahy, who heads the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy for the Association of Chief Police Officers, told the BBC around 500 British fighters were thought to be in Syria and Iraq.
He added that Mr Muthana's concerns, as the father of sons who had gone abroad to fight, were not dissimilar to those of parents whose children had got into drug activity or gang activity - though their situation was "much more risky". He said some estimates put the number even higher, with the true figure still unknown.
He warned against "demonising the Muslim community itself" adding that "the vast majority of Muslim people are really worried about this situation and are working with us to try and identify those people that may be at risk". He added: "This isn't just a police issue - it's about working with schools, youth organisations, even people in the NHS. It's about trying to get the whole community to identify people who may be thinking about going to Syria."
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said MI5 was having to prioritise the greatest amount of its casework on tracking British jihadists in Syria. UK police are trying to get the film, posted by accounts linked to Islamist militant group Isis, taken offline.
Meanwhile, West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit is investigating the disappearance of a 18-year-old from Stoke Heath, Coventry, following reports that he has travelled to Syria to join Isis. The 13-minute video, entitled There is No Life Without Jihad, emerged on Friday.
His family raised concerns after his disappearance in March. He is reported to have posted tweets claiming to be in Syria with Isis. It appears to show six fighters - apparently including three Britons - urging Muslims to join the conflicts abroad.
On Thursday, the UK government "proscribed" five Syria-linked jihadist groups - including Isis - making it a criminal offence to associate with it or give it financial backing.
Isis in IraqIsis in Iraq
Isis grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in IraqIsis grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in Iraq
Jihadi groups around the worldJihadi groups around the world
The Home Office said it wanted to "further restrict access to terrorist material" and use "family-friendly filters" to block other extremist content.The Home Office said it wanted to "further restrict access to terrorist material" and use "family-friendly filters" to block other extremist content.
A report by the government's extremism taskforce, carried out after the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, said it would work with internet companies to "restrict access to terrorist material online which is hosted overseas but illegal under UK law". A spokesman for the Internet Services Providers' Association, which describes itself as the trade body for the UK's internet industry, said host companies could be asked to take material down or it could be filtered out.
A spokesman for the Internet Services Providers' Association, which describes itself as the trade body for the UK's internet industry, told the BBC this was "a very tricky area". A YouTube spokesman said the company had "clear policies prohibiting violent content or content intended to incite violence, and we remove videos violating these policies when flagged by our users".
There would be two ways to remove the video, he said - either by asking every company hosting it to take it down, or by asking filtering companies to add it to their web filters.
The spokesman added that the Home Office had been looking at this "for a while now".
'Counter-productive'
Twitter said it had guidelines for authorities to request information about individual accounts, as well as rules on "potentially sensitive content".
A YouTube spokesman said it had "clear policies prohibiting violent content or content intended to incite violence, and we remove videos violating these policies when flagged by our users", although the There is No Life Without Jihad video was still available on YouTube on Saturday morning.
Charlie Beckett, of the London School of Economics, said mainstream websites such as YouTube had "teams of people" who regularly took down content on such grounds as taste and decency and copyright infringement.
"But they will just pop up elsewhere on other websites and servers who you cannot simply email and ask for them to be taken down," he added.
"And actually research has found that to be counter-productive, as removing them fuels the jihadist sense of Western hypocrisy over freedom of speech.
"It would be better to post comments under these videos and publish other videos from Muslims who do not agree with their views, to encourage debate instead."
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Isis".Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Isis".