A British man said by Islamic State to have detonated a suicide bomb attacking Iraqi forces in Mosul is former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ronald Fiddler, Sky sources have said.

IS named the bomber as Abu Zakariya al Britani, and claimed the vehicle he was in had exploded in Tal Kisum village, south of Mosul.

The "al Britani" name is often used by the extremist group to indicate a fighter's British background.

Ronald Fiddler, 50, was one of five Britons released in 2004 after being held at America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre, in Cuba, for more than two years.

It has been reported that he was given up to £1m compensation by Tony Blair's government after he was freed, however the former prime minister has denied the claim.


In a statement on his website, Mr Blair says that although the lobbying to free British detainees from Guantanamo Bay took place under his government, the compensation was paid out under the Conservative-led coalition government in 2010.

Image: Jamal al Harith leaves RAF Northolt after arriving in the UK from Guantanamo Bay in 2004

His response was prompted by a front page Daily Mail story which singled out "intense lobbying" from Mr Blair's government on behalf of the Guantanamo detainees.

Mr Blair roundly criticises what he calls the "utter hypocrisy" of the paper, pointing to the fact the Daily Mail itself had led a campaign calling for the Manchester-born jihadi's release.

Also defending Labour's actions, former foreign secretary Jack Straw told Sky News: "We had to make the best decisions at the time that we could, and I think we did."

On the issue of compensation, he said: "This was settled not by us but by Ken Clarke, my successor as justice secretary. It could well have been that we would have made the same decision, but just for the record it was a Conservative government."

By the time he was awarded the compensation, Fiddler had changed his name to Jamal al Harith.

:: Ronald Fiddler: British-born model turned jihadi

He was thought to have been captured by US forces in 2002 while he was being held in Kandahar jail in Afghanistan.

Originally the Muslim convert was from the Moss Side area of Manchester and was the father of five children.

Details of the suicide attack in which he is said by IS to have died were released in a statement reported by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Forces from the Hashed al Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation), a paramilitary umbrella group dominated by Shia militias backed by Tehran, are active in the area mentioned in the statement.

Image: The five freed Guantanamo captives arriving at RAF Northolt

They are fighting alongside other Iraqi forces, including the army and the federal police, as part of a push that started on Sunday to retake the west bank of Mosul.

According to figures published by the British Government last year, around 850 individuals of national security concern have travelled to fight in Iraq and Syria.

:: Britons who have died fighting for IS

Of those, just under half have returned to the UK and approximately 15% are dead.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria, and against all travel to large parts of Iraq.

"As all UK consular services are suspended in Syria and greatly limited in Iraq, it is extremely difficult to confirm the whereabouts and status of British nationals in these areas."