ISIS has released new images of its oldest fighter – an 81-year-old Chinese grandfather – in a desperate bid to boost morale with the terror group which is on course to lose Fallujah.
Muhammed Amin is said to have once been a member of the minority Muslim Uighur in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in north west China once known as Turkestan.
But ISIS, currently battling to maintain control of its Iraqi stronghold of Fallujah, claim he left his home country with his family after seeing a video of his jihadi son being killed in Syria.
In new pictures, the ageing extremist can be seen holding a hand gun and posing in front of a camera with another unidentified man.
It comes as ISIS fighters launched a series of desperate counter attacks as Iraqi forces continued to advance on Fallujah.
But more than 75 of the jihadists were killed when the attack was repelled, it emerged today.
Inside the city, panicked extremists were reported to have rounded up about 100 young men while other fighters branding residents ‘cowards’ for not backing their cause.
The release of pictures of Amin could be seen as being an attempt to boost morale among ISIS ranks.
Last year he featured in a propaganda video released by the extremists in which he said: ‘I was subjected to oppression in Turkestan at the hands of the Chinese… for 60 years.’
‘I made hijrah (religious journey) accompanied by my four grandsons, my daughter and my wife.’
Filmed holding an AK-47 in some scenes and at the controls of heavy artillery in others, the elderly jihadi, who was dressed in fatigues, said he trained but was not currently fighting.
“I came to Islamic State and went to training camp despite my old age,’ he added. ‘I went to training camp and I crawled, I ran and I rolled.
‘I did almost everything and ended training camp well. After receiving a weapon I asked permission to participate in battle, but he didn’t give me permission so I am presently in ribat (base).’
The jihadi, who says he was a imam in China, says Muslims face oppression in his home country.
The video, believed to have been filmed in Syria, cuts to scenes inside one of the terror group’s schools, where children sit inside a classroom wearing hats bearing the recognisable ISIS logo.
In 2015, Chinese officials claimed Muslims from Xinjiang were travelling to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS – before returning home to take part in plots against the communist rule.
Authorities in the western region said they were planning to strengthen a crackdown on terrorism and extremism in the area, home to the minority Muslim Uighur, some of whom want their own independent state.
China has previously expressed concerns about the rise of ISIS, fearing it will fuel unrest and violence in Xinjiang, where some seek to set up an independent state called East Turkestan.
Xinjiang has seen repeated violence, as members of the Muslim Uighur have bristled under what they say is repressive Chinese government rule.
Beijing has previously blamed the violence on Islamic militants with foreign connections who are seeking an independent state in Xinjiang, but has offered little evidence and ignored calls for independent investigations.
Uighur groups say police have used indiscriminate deadly force against people protesting the government’s policies in the region.
Attacks blamed on Uighurs have also occurred in other parts of the country, including a car which plowed into Beijing’s Tiananmen Gate in 2013, killing five people.
Many of the group, who have traditionally followed a moderate form of Islam, have also begun adopting practices more commonly seen in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, such as full-face veils for women in the face of the crackdown.
Some Xinjiang cities have placed restrictions on Islamic dress, including the capital Urumqi, which banned the wearing of veils in public late last year.
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