Nairobi--A British jihadist fighting for Somalia's Al-Qaeda affiliate, the Shebab, is believed to have been killed in a thwarted attack on a Kenyan army base, a Kenyan defence spokesman said.
Thomas Evans is believed to have been among a group of militants who launched a pre-dawn raid Sunday on a Kenyan army base in Baure, close to the border with Somalia.
Two Kenyan soldiers were killed and at least 15 Shebab fighters died in the shootout, among them two "Caucasians", according to Kenyan defence officials.
"All the available data, including photographs, points to it being Thomas Evans. There is an investigation going on with forensics and DNA to confirm his identity," said Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Colonel David Obonyo.
If confirmed, Evans' death would be the first reported case of a British Islamist militant being killed on Kenyan soil.
Evans, in his mid-20s and also known as Abdul Hakim, is a Muslim convert whose family lives in Buckinghamshire in southern England. In 2011, he reportedly travelled to Somalia, succeeding on his third attempt to join Shebab.
A statement issued by Evans' mother Sally on Monday said, "My son Michael and I are currently awaiting official confirmation regarding the death of my son Thomas. We cannot comment any further at this time and request the press respect our privacy."
The British embassy in Nairobi said it was "seeking to confirm reports" that a Briton had been killed.
In an interview with a British newspaper last year Sally Evans described the transformation of her hip-hop loving son when he converted to Islam aged 19.
She described how he stopped watching television, grew a beard, shaved his head and began using a twig instead of a toothbrush to clean his teeth.
Sally Evans said she had informed British police of her son's journey to Somalia. "I would rather have Thomas alive behind bars than dead in the middle of nowhere," she told The Sunday Times in 2014
AFP
