British jihadi, 19, dies fighting with Islamic State in Syrian town of Kobani

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A British jihadi from Portsmouth has been killed fighting in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, currently besieged by Islamic State (IS) militants.

The family of Mehdi Hassan, 19, confirmed to ITV News that gruesome pictures of his body on social media were authentic.

CCTV showed Hassan apparently travelling with four other friends from Portsmouth to Syria in October 2013.

Hassan, who went by the name of Abu Dujana in Syria, attended a private Catholic school in Hampshire.

As a teen he was a keen reader of Roald Dahl and Harry Potter and had intended to study international politics at Surrey University.

But instead of arriving at university in September last year, he travelled to Syria to fight with four other young men from the Portsmouth area - to the horror of his shocked parents.

Three of the group are now dead, one is seriously injured, and one is in jail in Britain after returning from the war.

A statement from Hassan's family said he had a "good heart" and was trying to "help Syrians".

Kobani, close to the border with Turkey, has seen fierce fighting between Kurdish troops and IS militants. Credit: Reuters

The family also suggested that the teenager had considered returning home from Syria but was worried by the threat of prosecution on terror charges.