Abu Abdullah al-Habashi, 20, believed to have died in fighting in and around besieged border town of Kobani

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A London man has been killed fighting for Islamic State (Isis), social media accounts linked to the extremist group have said.

Abu Abdullah al-Habashi was said to have died in fighting in and around the Syrian border town of Kobani.

He was born into a Christian family of Eritrean heritage and converted to Islam. The 20-year-old became a human propaganda machine for Isis, appearing in a video urging Britons to travel to Syria, another vowing the black flag of Isis would one day fly over the White House, and also appeared in a BBC interview.

He adopted the name Abu Abdullah al-Britani, and in one photo was pictured next to the corpse of a decapitated Syrian soldier.

At least 27 Britons have died fighting in Syria, and it is estimated that about 500 Britons may have joined Isis despite pleas for them not to.

While his case shows the power of the group’s message to lure Britons, his death may show the increasing effectiveness of the coalition crackdown, now bolstered by US air strikes.

In one Isis video al-Habashi said: “I don’t think there’s anything better than living in the land of khilafah. We don’t need any democracy, we don’t need any communism or anything like that, all we need is sharia.”

Smoke rises from an eastern Kobani neighbourhood, damaged by fighting between Isis militants and Kurdish forces. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said it was unable to confirm the death, adding: “We are aware of the reports. Our advice continues to be against all travel to Syria.”

One activist group said it had contacted at least 10 British fighters who were trapped in Turkey amid fears of returning home.

Cage, which campaigns against what it believes are harsh western counter-terrorism measures, called for an amnesty for Britons who wished to return home.

It quoted one man trapped in Turkey as saying: “It’s going to have a completely reverse effect. Instead of making Britain safer, you would radicalise a whole generation, especially if you’re pushing them and pushing them into a corner, they are just going to burst and react.”

A spokesman for Cage, Amandla Thomas-Johnson, said: “It is critical that any policy on returnees is formed after consultation with them, instead of hearsay. Policy must be formed based on real life cases, instead of inferences from social media activity.

“As mentioned by Richard Barrett, former MI6 global counter-terrorism chief, returnees from Syria have an important role to play in helping reintegrate their peers into society. A domestic policy that ostracises as opposed to integrates will only increase radicalisation.”