Mother of Briton ‘killed fighting for al-Shabaab’ felt let down by authorities

A British extremist who converted to Islam two years before he fled to conflict-torn Somalia is believed to have been killed as he fought for the terrorist group al-Shabaab.

Thomas Evans, 25, left his home in the leafy Buckinghamshire village of Wooburn Green in 2011 to join the al-Qaida-linked group after becoming a Muslim and changing his name to Abdul Hakim.

Evans, who told his family in 2013 he had married a 13-year-old Somali girl, is thought to be one of at least 15 al-Shabaab militants killed when the jihadi launched a dawn raid on a military base in Baure, Kenya, defence officials said.

His death, if confirmed, will be the first reported case of a British Islamist militant being killed on Kenyan soil and comes as 17-year-old Talha Asmal was reported to have become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber.

In a brief statement, Evans’s mother Sally said: “My son, Michael, and I are currently awaiting official confirmation regarding the death of my son Thomas. We cannot comment any further at this time and request the press respect our privacy.”

Evans, an electrician, attempted to fly to Kenya in February 2011, when he was 21, but was stopped by counter-terrorism police at Heathrow. He flew to Egypt a few months later in June, telling his family he was going to learn Arabic and funding his travel through a car-boot sale.

He contacted his mother in January 2012 to reveal he had travelled on to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, the jihadi group behind atrocities in Kenya, including the Westgate shopping mall attack in which nearly 70 people were killed and 175 injured.

Evan’s mother and brother told MPs on the home affairs select committee in February that she felt let down by the authorities for failing to stop him travelling to Somalia.