Father hails British teen killed in Syria as a 'martyr'

The father of a British teenager killed in Syria says his son, Abdullah Deghayes, did "a brave thing" by going to fight against Bashar al-Assad's forces.

ITV News reporter Sejal Karia reports.

Read: Father hails British teen killed in Syria as a 'martyr'

The father of a British teenager who died fighting in Syria has told ITV News he is "proud" that his son "sacrificed his own life for the sake of others".

Speaking from his home in Brighton, Abubaker Deghayes said his son was a "nice person" with many friends, although he was "a bit naughty, like any other teenager".

Read: Father hails British teen killed in Syria as a 'martyr'

The father of a British teenager killed in Syria has described him as a "martyr" and tried to convince him not to fight in the war-torn country.

Abdullah Deghayes, 18, from Brighton, whose uncle is a former Guantanamo detainee, is believed to have died in April, after leaving the UK in January.

Mr Deghayes insisted his sons were not "terrorists" but travelled to Syria to defend "those who are weak" after seeing videos of the atrocities online.

His brothers Jafar, 16, and 20-year-old Amer also travelled to Syria. Speaking in Brighton, Mr Deghayes said:

Asked whether he believed Abdullah was a martyr, Mr Deghayes replied: "Of course I think, as a Muslim, that my son is a martyr. Anyone who dies for a just cause is a martyr."

Read more: British teen, 18, killed during conflict in Syria

The British teenager killed in Syria is the nephew of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.

Abdullah Deghayes, 18, from Brighton, East Sussex, is the nephew of Omar, who was held in the United States as an enemy combatant at the detention centre between 2002 and 2007 after he was arrested in Pakistan.

Read: Family of killed British teen didn't know he was in Syria

The family of a British teenager who was killed in Syria said they had no idea he was in the war-torn country.

Abubaker Deghayes, the father of 18-year-old Abdullah, said he found out about his son's death on Facebook.

Read: Tributes pour in for 18-year-old Briton killed in Syria

Tributes to British teenager Abdullah Deghayes, who was killed in Syria, have been left on social media.

Friend Louis Tierney wrote on Facebook: "Miss you like mad! Love you mate forever in my heart xxxxx."

Other friends have taken to Twitter:

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said, "We are aware of the death of a British national and are urgently looking in to it."

More: British teen, 18, killed during a conflict in Syria

An 18-year boy from Brighton has been killed in Syria.

Abdullah Deghayes died earlier this month, although the circumstances of his death are not clear.

The family of Abdullah confirmed his death and said they did not know he had travelled to the country.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said, "We are aware of the death of a British national and are urgently looking in to it."

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said, "On Monday 14th April, we received information that an 18-year-old Brighton man had been killed in Syria in recent weeks.

"The circumstances of this reported death remain unclear and we are in contact with the family."