Israeli Arab killed while fighting for ISIS, family says

The family of Ahmed Habashi, 24, an Israeli Arab from the village of Iksal in the Galilee, confirmed late Saturday he was killed in Iraq while fighting for the Islamic State group.

According to Army Radio, Habashi's family, which had previously rejected reports their son was killed, received the news from another Israeli Arab allegedly fighting for ISIS.

Habashi left Israel and joined ISIS in January 2014, and had since contacted his family on several occasions.

Abed al-Salam Darawshe, the head of Iksal's local council, told Army Radio that Habashi was an isolated case and was not representative of the youth in his village.

An initial report in the Nazareth-based newspaper, Al-Arab, said Habashi was killed in a firefight a few days ago in Iraq's Anbar Province. According to Al-Arab, "Hundreds of relatives and residents of the village gathered at the mourning tent erected outside the family home to console the bereaved family."

Earlier Saturday, before the family officially confirmed the reports of his death, Habashi's father, Muhammad, told Israel Hayom: "A man called us and said he fought with Ahmed in Iraq and told us he was killed. I hope it isn't true. We learned that he crossed into Syria to fight with the rebels against the regime of [Syrian President Bashar Assad], after he called and told us. At a certain stage he called to say he was in Iraq and missed us very much. I told him I was angry with him and begged of him to return home, because the path he chose is not our path. He was an excellent student and studied toward an engineering degree. I don't understand what caused him to get up and join these organizations. I call on all of our youngsters not to take an example from what my son did."

Habashi's brother, Adham, told Israel Hayom: "Everything is baseless rumors. We have not erected a mourning tent, and it's a shame there are those trying to spread falsehoods. My brother travelled a few months ago to Turkey, from there he went into Syria and Iraq and since then no one knows what happened to him. Rumors reached us that he had joined ISIS after crossing into Syria. We're talking about someone who was a gifted student and athlete, and we all hope this is all a lie and that he is alive."

Habashi made his way into Syria with Rabiya Shahade, 26, an Israeli citizen from Nazareth.

According to the Arabic press, after arriving in Syria Shahade changed his name to Abu Musaav Alsafuri, where he quickly rose through the ranks of the Islamic State group and even received the moniker "the butcher from Palestine."

In early September, Israel's Shin Bet security agency said it believes at least 10 Israeli Arabs have joined ISIS and are currently fighting with the organization in Iraq and Syria.

The Shin Bet assessment was based on the fact that since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in March 2011, dozens of Israeli Arabs have joined various rebel groups currently fighting the Syrian army.

In late September, a high school teacher was arrested on suspicion of supporting ISIS after a search of his Umm al-Fahm home revealed Islamic State flags and jihadist propaganda materials.

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