Alarming reports have been circulating throughout the media this morning that one of the men who carried out a series of suicide bombing attacks on the Iraqi city of Ramadi was allegedly an 18 year-old teen from Melbourne by the name of Jake Bilardi.
Islamic State-backed social media accounts began spreading the news that Bilardi, an apparent “self-radicalised” fighter for the IS, had died as part of a coordinated series of car bomb attacks on the city, which were confirmed by Iraqi officials. If true, this continues the trend of the Islamic State leaders using foreign nationals as frontline cannon fodder in order to gain heightened international media coverage. IS has a heavy and efficient presence on social media, with estimates suggesting that over 46,000 Twitter accounts are used by IS-backed soldiers and services. The group also utilises Facebook and YouTube to distribute propaganda and recruit fighters.
A young man strongly resembling Bilardi was shown in footage in the drivers seat of a white 4WD, which was then shown driving down a dusty road in an unidentified city. It is alleged that this car, and the man driving it, were subsequently involved in the suicide attack.
Bilardi’s involvement with the IS began last year. The teen initially converted to Islam at the age of 16 whilst attending Craigieburn Secondary College. He later transferred to Rosehill Secondary College at the beginning of 2014. An extremely gifted maths student, it appears that Bilardi began the process of joining the Islamic State at some point during 2014, with his views becoming more concentrated and radicalised in the wake of his mother’s death from cancer. Bilardi is believed to have extensively read from Arab news sources, and reportedly began making posts about the “evil” of the United States on social media.
Despite his academic gifts, Bilardi dropped out of high school last year and purchased a one-way ticket to Turkey. From there, he entered Syria and Iraq and joined the IS as a foreign soldier.
He first appeared in photos taken by the IS in December of last year, sitting with fellow IS soldiers and clutching a rifle. Following the attacks today, more images of Bilardi with IS forces have surfaced, including the revelation that his Islamic name had been appointed as Abu Abdullah al Australi. BBC journalist Secunder Kermani revealed he had interviewed the young Victorian last December, and that the teen had stated he was “chasing death.”
Reports of the toll this recent spate of bombings has taken are unclear. Though it is believed that as many as 10 people were killed, and 30 more injured following the detonation of 13 car bombs. Various reports state that Iraqi forces were able to intercept and set off the bombing attackers largely before they were able to reach their more densely populated targets.
Photo via Facebook.
via SMH.
