A British Muslim extremist today warned would-be jihadists in a disturbing YouTube video that fighting in Syria is ‘not as easy as people might think’ - and complained of the 'five-star jihad' image.
The unidentified man, who spoke for four minutes holding a gun in front of a pick-up truck, said that ‘you don't just come here, put on a tactical vest, grab a Kalashnikov and get a big beard’.
But experts on the situation said the man was trying to solve a problem of his own group’s making - because he is connected to a group of Londoners in Syria who coined the 'five-star jihad' phrase.
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Warning: The unidentified man, who speaks for four minutes holding a gun in front of a pick-up truck, said that 'you don't just come here, put on a tactical vest, grab a Kalashnikov and get a big beard'
He spoke under the banner of Rayat al-Tawheed, a group claiming to be the distributor of English-language materials produced by jihadist organisation the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
UK officials are concerned that Britons who have fought with militants in Syria will return more radicalised, with both new paramilitary skills and with direct contacts to Al Qaeda or its affiliates.
The man said, in an English accent: ‘It is not easy to stand in front of a tank while it launches at you. It is not easy to raise this simple piece of metal and pull the trigger, although people might think it is.
‘It's not as easy as pulling out your 9mm [gun] on a back road on the streets of London and blasting a guy with it, [knowing] that he's not going to blast you back.
‘It's not as easy as putting your feet up on the couch after a hard day's work on the corner. This is practically the Muslim man's job and career, to fight for the sake of our lives.’
He was responding to a message by a man who ‘offended’ him by claiming that ‘you don’t have to be in a certain stage of the Iman to come into the land of jihad and fight for the sake of Allah’.
Logo: He spoke under the banner of Rayat al-Tawheed, a group claiming to be the distributor of English-language materials produced by jihadist organisation the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The man in the video added: ‘When you come to these lands, you act the Islam, you are the Islam people want to see and know.
'You don't just come here and put on a tactical vest and grab a Kalashnikov and get a big beard - and that's it. This is not just a thing you can put on Instagram or Facebook'
Man in Rayat al-Tawheed video
'So you don't just come here and you put on a tactical vest, grab a Kalashnikov and (get) a big beard - (and) that's it. Brothers, this is not just a thing you can put on Instagram or Facebook.
‘This is something you have to achieve. So brothers, I love you all for the sake of Allah, the ones sitting and the ones fighting - get your priorities straight and your intentions straight.
'Don't think you are going to come into a road that is planted with roses and pebbles and, as people have seen recently, villas and mansions and things like that.’
Security sources have already warned of an increasingly large role played in the Syrian conflict by foreign fighters, including Europeans.
Concerns: UK officials are concerned that Britons who have fought with militants in Syria will return more radicalised, with both new paramilitary skills and with direct contacts to Al Qaeda or its affiliates
Shiraz Maher, a senior fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London, said the man in the video was trying to solve a problem his own group had caused.
The expert told MailOnline: ‘The guy in the video is connected with a group of Londoners out in Syria who had promoted this idea. They were the ones to coin this phrase “five-star jihad”.
'They spent a lot of time putting out propaganda saying they have a more comfortable life out there. Initially it was to get people out there. (But) what they're noticing is that people came for a holiday'
Shiraz Maher, Kings College researcher
‘Basically they spent a lot of time putting out propaganda saying they have a more comfortable life out there. Initially it was to get people out there.
'They created websites and Tumblr and Instagram accounts. (However) what they're noticing is that people came for a holiday - but this isn't a holiday.
'He is very definitely connected, because we know the Brits who are involved in that media company who put out the video.
'They've taken over houses of affluent people who have fled - and were saying “life ain't so bad”.’
Devastation all around: Syrian civilians are seen in Babila town, south-east Damascus, on February 17
Danger: A man walks along a deserted street filled with debris in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria, on February 14
US and UK officials say hundreds of British citizens have travelled to Syria to join anti-government rebels - and that as many as 100 Britons are in Syria fighting with militants at any given time.
British authorities are believed to be investigating at least a handful of potential terrorism plots involving former foreign fighters in Syria.
The aforementioned ISIL is one of two rebel groups which US and European officials say are the most extreme Sunni factions seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The travels of British citizens and other Europeans to and from Syria are tough for security agencies to track because of the many routes and limited border controls between nations belonging to the EU.
Western officials say they fear that Syria is now becoming the central front in Islamic militants' struggle to spread their control and ideology.
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