Melbourne Teenager Suspected In Iraq Suicide Blasts
SYDNEY—
Authorities in Canberra are trying to confirm reports that an 18-year-old Australian has died while carrying out a suicide attack for the Islamic State group.
The radical Sunni group has claimed that Jake Bilardi had been killed in a series of blasts in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.
In propaganda published online, the Islamic State group claimed it had used foreign fighters from Australia, Belgium, Syria and Uzbekistan in a coordinated onslaught of suicide attacks in Ramadi.
One photograph showed the image of a young man who closely resembles Bilardi sitting behind the wheel of a white van.
The teenager left his home in the southern city of Melbourne in August and flew to the Middle East.
Officials said he had come to the attention of the security agencies, and had his Australian passport canceled in October. By then, however, he was in the conflict zone, having apparently been recruited by the Islamic State terrorist group.
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