Fanatic?

Only in the western understanding of the word. Being a devout Islam 101’er, he was just heeding the commands of his warlord prophet, Mohamed.

The Al Qaeda fanatic from Britain who funded jihad trip to Syria by mugging Londoners with a Taser

• Choukri Ellekhlifi, 22, was originally from Morocco but living in Paddington
• Along with two other men he used a stun-gun to rob people in Belgravia
• He used the proceeds to fund a trip to the Middle East to fight in Syria
• Died on August 11 near Aleppo while attacking pro-government forces

By DUNCAN GARDHAM

PUBLISHED: 22:04 GMT, 30 November 2013 | UPDATED: 15:08 GMT, 1 December 2013

A British man who was killed fighting alongside Al Qaeda-linked extremists in Syria funded his trip by mugging people in an affluent area of London, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

Choukri Ellekhlifi, 22, threatened victims with a Taser-style high-voltage stun gun and forced them to hand over valuables including designer watches and mobile phones.

He lived in London until a year ago when he skipped bail and travelled to Syria to join a group of Islamic extremists waging war on President Assad’s regime.

Now it has been revealed that he was one of three British men killed as their group attacked pro-government forces near the city of Aleppo on August 11.

The trio were part of a group of ten British jihadists who joined up with  20 other Britons to fight with the Al-Nusra Front, which is allied to Al Qaeda.

Ellekhlifi had joined the rebels under a pseudonym  but his true identity became clear after police compared mugshots taken after his arrest for the street robberies with a photo of British fighters in Syria that emerged last week.

Another man pictured with him, Mohammed el-Araj, 23, from Ladbroke Grove, West London, was killed two weeks later during a firefight.

Months before his death, Ellekhlifi targeted wealthy individuals in Belgravia, Central London to raise funds for his journey to the Middle East, according to security sources.

Alongside two accomplices – Mohamed Elyasse Taleouine, 21, and Mohammed Ibrahim, 23, both from West London – Ellekhlifi committed eight  robberies during a four-day crime spree last year.

‘Wearing masks, they would approach their victims on bicycles, threaten them with a stun gun and demand they hand over their possessions,’ a security source said.

The robberies were committed between 11.15pm and 12.30am. 

Two of the gang’s victims needed hospital treatment after the gun was fired at them.

Scotland Yard launched an investigation into the robberies and in August this year officers executed search warrants at the homes of Ellekhlifi, Taleouine and Ibrahim, where they found much of the stolen property.

Read more: H/T: Fjordman