The father of Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi has hit out at an Iraqi mother who accused him of being a 'people smuggler' after she lost two children on the same boat that killed his own family.

Zainab Abbas, whose son and daughter died on the doomed boat trip, said Abdullah Kurdi was the driver of the boat and begged her not to 'dob him in'.

But the grieving father, speaking to MailOnline from the Syrian city of Kobane, denied her claims and says he does not understand why she is trying to tarnish his reputation.

Zainab Abbas, left, claims Abdullah Kurdi, right, who lost his wife and two children in the tragedy, was driving the boat

The photograph of the tiny body of Aylan shocked the world and sparked an outpouring of support for Syrian refugees.

He died alongside his brother Galip, five, and mother Rehan, when their boat capsized after setting off from Bodrum, Turkey, in a bid to reach the Greek island of Kos.

Reacting to Ms Abbas' claims, Mr Kurdi said: 'This is not true. If I was a people smuggler, why would I put my family in the same boat as the other people? I paid the same amount to the people smugglers.

'I am devastated for the loss of my family and what happened to me. This is too much for me and now they want to ruin my reputation.'

Yesterday, Ms Abbas blamed the tragedy on Mr Kurdi, who has since returned to Kobane to bury his wife and two children.

Grief: Zeinab (left) mourns beside the coffins of their two dead children, Haidar and Zainab, who drowned off the coast of Turkey

Zainab with her husband and daughter after the tragic boat ride which killed her other two children

'Yes, it was Abdullah Kurdi driving the boat,' Ms Abbas told Australian TV station Network Ten through her cousin Lara Tahseen today.

Ms Abbas said the man she paid to book her passage told her it would be safe because the driver was taking his wife and two children.

'When I lost my kids, I lost my life, how can he lie to the media?' her cousin Ms Tahseen said, translating for Ms Abbas.

'He said: "Please don't dob me in." That was in the water.'

Ms Abbas said Mr Kurdi was speeding in the overcrowded boat, which did not have enough life jackets.

Family: Adbullah Kurdi pictured with his sons Aylan (left) and Galip (right) who died when their boat capsized

Aylan (left), three, and his brother Galip (right), five, died alongside their mother as they tried to reach Kos

She said her husband told him to be careful shortly before the boat capsized, reportedly killing at least 12 people.

Mr Kurdi, who did not know Ms Abbas' name until MailOnline told him it, added: 'I thought about driving the boat but I didn't do it. That is all lies.

'I know there was an Iraqi family on the boat and two children had died - a boy and a girl. I don't know why Zainab is saying that.

'She had the same as me - she lost her children, I lost my children.

'I have three graves in front of me and I have no one.'

The photograph of the tiny body of Aylan Kurdi shocked the world and sparked an outpouring of support for Syrian refugees

Ms Abbas' 12-year-old daughter Zainab and eight-year-old son Haidar were trapped under the small boat when it capsized in the Aegean Sea.

Ms Abbas, her husband and their three children had left Iraq, travelled to Istanbul and then made their way to Bodrum on the coast.

They spent almost two weeks trying to get an opportunity to make the dangerous crossing to Greece.

Ms Abbas, her husband and their third child survived the tragedy. The bodies of the two children who perished arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday.