The last moment of the British jihadist who blew himself up to free Syrian rebels: UK fighter drove truck full of explosives in prison suicide attack

Abu Suleiman al-Britani blew himself up outside Aleppo jail, it is claimed

Believed to have driven truck packed with explosives into prison gates

Hundreds of rebels stormed in behind him - freeing up to 300 inmates

UK fighters confirmed death, texting: 'Lol yes... the first British brother!'

If true, Britani will be eighth Briton killed fighting in Syria during civil war

Several hundred British fighters believed to be taking part in uprising



Conflict has killed more than 130,000 people over the past three years



Comes as Assad's government has reached agreement with UN to let hundreds of trapped civilians leave besieged parts of city of Homs



This is the moment a British man fighting in Syria is believed to have died after blowing himself up in a suicide attack on a prison.



The jihadist, known as Abu Suleiman al-Britani, drove a truck packed with explosives into Aleppo's central jail yesterday, according to British fighters in Syria.



Hundreds of rebels stormed in behind him - freeing up to 300 inmates from the regime-controlled compound and prompting air strikes by government forces.



Explosion: Abu Suleiman al-Britani is believed to have died after blowing himself up in a suicide attack on Aleppo prison in Syria. Above, smoke rises from the jail following a reported air strike by government forces

Attack: Britani drove a truck packed with explosives into the jail yesterday - freeing hundreds of inmates, according to British fighters in Syria. Above, this photo shows the modified truck reportedly driven by Britani

Yesterday, Shiraz Maher, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College, London, contacted British fighters in Syria in a bid to confirm the death, according to The Telegraph.

In a reply by text, he was told: 'Lol, yes, news travels fast. The first British brother!'

Charles Lister, a terrorism adviser at the Brookings Center in Doha, Qatar, told the newspaper it was '99 per cent' likely that the British-born fighter had been killed in yesterday's attack.



In a photo taken before the attack and posted on Twitter, a modified truck believed to be driven by Britani can be seen travelling toward Aleppo prison.



Horrific: Smoke rises from Aleppo's central prison

Battle ready: Brothers Mohamed (left) and Akram Sebah, from London, died waging jihad in Syria's civil war

The vehicle features the black Jabhat al-Nusr flag and is decked out with explosives.



Britani is thought to have blown himself up as he reached the gates of the prison, which houses an estimated 4,000 inmates.

The attack - which came ahead of a second round of peace talks planned by the Syrian government for next week - was reportedly part of an offensive aimed at capturing key government symbols around the northern city of Aleppo.

If his identity is confirmed, Britani - who is of Pakistani origin - will be the eighth Briton to die fighting in Syria since the uprising against president Bashar Assad began three years ago.

Deaths: And in November, Britons Mohammed el-Araj (left) and Abu Hujama al-Britani (right) were revealed to have been killed during an ambush on Assad forces. Above, the pair are joined by the soldier who trained them

Earlier this week, siblings Akram and Mohamed Sebah were confirmed to have died waging jihad in the country's brutal civil war.

Akram, 24, was a London estate agent who travelled with 28-year-old Mohamed to the country’s increasingly bloody battlefields.

They have now become the new poster boys for Al Qaeda, which is boasting of their ‘martyrdom’ to recruit more Western fighter

And in November, Britons Mohammed el-Araj and Abu Hujama al-Britani were revealed to have been killed during an ambush on Assad force.

Claims: Notorious 'hate-preacher' Anjem Choudary (left) claims the number of Britons fighting in Syria is 'in the thousands', while Francois Hollande (right) said about 700 Frenchmen are suspected of fighting in the country



Several hundred Britons are believed to be fighting in Syria's civil war, which has left more than 130,000 people dead and forced more than 2.3 million to seek refuge abroad.

However, the ‘hate-preacher’ Anjem Choudary claims the number of British fighters is ‘in the thousands’ .

And in his New Year press conference last month, French president Francois Hollande said some 700 Frenchmen were suspected of being in Syria.

On Monday, one of Britain's top prosectuors warned that Britons who take part in the Syrian conflict could face potential life sentences on their return to the UK.

Sue Hemming told the Evening Standard it was a crime to fight in another country - even to defeat a 'loathsome' dictator, such as Assad.

Deadly weapons: It comes as makeshift weapons - containers packed with explosives, fuel and scrap metal - have killed more than 250 people in Aleppo in the past six days. Above, a fighter prepares a homemade rocket

Uprising: Several hundred Britons are believed to be fighting in the nearly three-year-old uprising against Assad, which has left more than 130,000 people dead and forced more than 2.3 million to seek refuge abroad

She added that those planning to fight in the civil war - but yet to depart from Britain - would also face prosecution.



By yesterday evening, heavy clashes between rebels and soldiers were raging inside Aleppo prison - with government forces launching airstrikes on the facility in a bid to deter rebels.

FIRST CIVILIANS ARE EVACUATED FROM THE CITY OF HOMS

Syria began evacuating civilians from a besieged area of Homs today, while Russia announced that Syria’s warring parties had agreed a three-day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid in to those who remain. The first bus carrying 11 weary-looking evacuees, accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent officials, arrived at a meeting point outside Homs as government soldiers stood by. And a further 190 people were expected to leave this afternoon.

Another person was brought out by ambulance from the Old City district, where activists say 2,500 people have been under siege for more than a year, hungry and malnourished. Russia said a three-day ceasefire had been agreed in Homs, where street after street has been destroyed in heavy fighting between Assad’s forces and rebels seeking his overthrow over the past three years.

'It is foreseen that all children, women, men under age 55, as well as wounded people, can leave the combat zone without obstacle,' Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. It said Syrian authorities had announced that evacuees would be provided with medical treatment and shelter.

The Observatory and other activists said the rebels freed several hundred prisoners, while state-run Syrian television said the army foiled an attempt by 'terrorist groups' to attack the prison.

Rebels have been besieging the compound for almost a year - having rammed suicide car bombs into the front gates twice and lobbed shells into the compound and battled frequently with the hundreds of guards and troops holed up inside.

In recent weeks, government forces have been dropping crude 'barrel bombs' on cities - with these deadly airstrikes prompting opposition leaders to threaten to suspend the proposed peace talks.

In the past six days alone, makeshift weapons - containers packed with explosives, fuel and scrap metal - have killed more than 250 people in Aleppo, including 73 children, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

They include at least 11 who died Thursday - six of them from the same family - in the opposition-held neighborhood of Masaken Hanano.

Videos uploaded by activists showed the aftermath, including men weeping amid ravaged buildings and corpses covered with blankets on the pavement.

'Be careful. There’s a corpse under your feet... It’s a child!' someone can be heard shouting.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored the 'ongoing aerial attacks' and the use of 'barrel bombs' to brutal, devastating effect in populated areas which violate international humanitarian and human rights law, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Ready to attack: Rebels have been besieging Aleppo prison for almost a year - having rammed suicide car bombs into the front gates twice. Above, a rebel fighter prepares to launch a mortar shell toward Assad's army

In other developments, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government said it has reached an agreement with the United Nations to let hundreds of trapped civilians leave besieged parts of the city of Homs and permit U.N. humanitarian relief convoys to enter.

The country began evacuating civilians from a besieged area of Homs today, while Russia announced that Syria’s warring parties had agreed a three-day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid in to those who remain.

'Lol, yes, news travels fast. The first British brother!'

British fighters in Syria



The first bus carrying 11 weary-looking evacuees, accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent officials, arrived at a meeting point outside Homs as government soldiers stood by - with a further 190 expected to leave this afternoon.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the United Nations welcomed reports that the parties agreed to 'a humanitarian pause'.

He said the U.N. and humanitarian organizations have food, medical aid and other basic supplies on the outskirts of Homs ready for immediate delivery as soon as 'the green light' is given for safe passage.



In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki welcomed the agreement, but warned: 'We should not be giving credit to a regime just for providing food for a few days to people who are starving, given that’s the right moral thing to do.

'This is something they should have been doing all along.'

















