Isil leak of 1,736 top secret documents names '16 British terrorists'

The files are said to outline the terrorist group's global recruitment programme

Tens of thousands of documents, containing 22,000 names, addresses, of Islamic State jihadis. Photo: Sky 

News

A massive leak of top-secret Isil documents, containing information about 22,000 jihadis, has exposed details of the terrorist network’s global recruitment programme.

The files are alleged to contain names, addresses, and family contacts of nationals from at least 51 countries, including at least a dozen British recruits.

The cache also reveals Isil has set up a human resources centre requiring recruits to undertake “entrance interviews” including a 23-question form.

There are thought to be 1,736 documents

The survey gives their names, birth dates, nationalities, home towns and even blood types.

The 1,736 documents reveal 70 per cent of the Isil recruits are Arabs while the majority of European recruits are from France, followed by Germany and Britain.
Prospective members were asked to choose between being used as suicide bombers, soldiers or in another role, and to provide details of any “previous jihadist experience”.
Known figures such as Abdel Bary, a 26-year-old from London who joined Isil in 2013 after visiting Libya, Egypt and Turkey, are seen in the documents, which were obtained by Sky News.
Reyaad Khan has bragged about the execution of prisoners
Reyaad Khan, 21, who was born in Cardiff, and computer hacker Junaid Hussein, 20, were also amongst the names.
But the identities of a number of previously unknown jihadis in the UK, across northern Europe, much of the Middle East, North Africa and the US are also said to be listed.
According to Sky News the files were passed to them on a memory stick stolen from the head of Isil’s internal security police.

AT A GLANCE

Britons in Syria

Salma, left, and Zahra Halane

The numbers

It is estimated 700 Britons have travelled to Syria - mostly to join Isil. Around half are believed to have already returned to the UK

Rules of travel

If someone is suspected of travelling abroad to engage in terrorism police can seize passports for up to 30 days while the individual is investigated further

Returning to the UK

British citizens suspected of being involved in terrorism overseas can be banned from returning for at least two years

Punishment

Sentences have so far ranged from 21 months (for funding travel) to 12 years (for terrorist activity). Many offences under terrorism laws carry a maximum life sentence

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“The message is clear: do not travel, do not engage in dangerous activities, do not put yourself or those you care about at risk"

- Theresa May

The man who stole the files was a former Free Syrian Army convert to Isil who calls himself Abu Hamed and says he is disillusioned with the Isil leadership.
The leak is being hailed as a severe set-back for the terrorist group, providing intelligence on the war effort in Syria and Iraq.
It is now believed intelligence agencies are examining the documents.

ABout

'Daesh' or 'Isil'?

"Daesh" is an Arabic acryonym  for "Al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi Iraq wa al-Sham", the full name of the group that calls itself Islamic State but formerly used to be Islamic Stateof Iraq and Levant, or Isil. The acronym is favoured by mainstream Muslims, who say the term "Islamic State" gives a religious dignity to what is simply a terrorist sect.

"Daesh" also sounds similar to the Arabic phrase "Dahes" - or "one who sows discord" - and as such is regarded as highly insulting by Isil followers. In July, a group of 120 British MPs wrote to Lord Hall, the director-general of the BBC, urging him to instruct his staff to use "Daesh" as well. Lord Hall said that would break BBC impartiality rules by giving viewers the impression that the BBC was explicitly supporting the group's opponents.