Who is Lucas Kinney? The British jihadist who is now at the very heart of new Syrian regime
A British convert may have found himself at the heart of Syrias rebel ruling force after impressing leaders with his communications skills.
A British convert may have found himself at the heart of Syrias rebel ruling force after impressing leaders with his communications skills.
Lucas Kinney, from Surrey, became a key player of the extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham after proving his worth over social media in a hard-hitting social media campaign.
Kinney gained extra notoriety for his online videos because as well as carrying an AK-47 over his shoulder, he had a toothbrush amid the ammo. Viewers joked dont forget your toothbrush.
He was the first white British convert known to have joined the jihad in Syria, the only one in the now triumphant group.
But there is some doubt about whether he has survived the vicious fighting and his parents back hom in London last night have refused to comment on his whereabouts.
Kinney was born in Hammersmith, west London, the son of American Patrick Kinney, now 68 and living in Florida, and British mother Deborah, now 62.
Patrick worked with Steven Spielberg on films including Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and Empire of the Sun.
A British convert may have found himself at the heart of Syria s rebel ruling force after impressing leaders with his communications skills. Lucas Kinney (pictured here age 13) became a key player of the extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Kinney gained extra notoriety for his online videos because as well as carrying an AK-47 over his shoulder, he had a toothbrush amid the ammo. Viewers joked dont forget your toothbrush. Pictured: A still from online propaganda video showing Kinney after he joined Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Kinneys parents divorced when he was at a catholic primary school in Surrey, and his mother, now Deborah Phipps, lives with her second husband in the West Country.
Kinney received Holy Communion as a teenage Catholic and talked of becoming a priest while at private school.
But he started going to a mosque - then travelled to the Middle East to take up a Kalashnikov against dictator Bashar al-Assad, boasting about it in propaganda videos.
The group he joined in 2013 was an offshoot of Osama bin Ladens feared Al Qaeda, the Nusra Front.
It changed its name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - which on Sunday entered Damascus in triumph as hated Assad fled.
Kinneys stepfather, who lives in a honeyed stone cottage on the west country, refused to speak to the Daily Mail about the jihadi convert.
But Kinney - who had taken the nom de guerre Abu Basir al-Britani - was last reported to be living in the countryside in Idlib province, north west Syria, in 2018, with a wife and two children. If still alive, he is 35.
Kinneys parents divorced when he was at a catholic primary school in Surrey, and his mother, now Deborah Phipps, lives with her second husband in the West Country. This image is from Kinneys old social media account
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2015, Mrs Phipps told of her fears he could be killed by an RAF drone strike or Russian bombardment, saying: Lucas is a target. Im glad hes associated with Al Qaeda rather than Islamic State, but obviously I worry.
On Mothers Day last year I spoke to his father and he told me he thought our son was dead because there was a picture of him on the internet lying on a bed in Syria and you couldnt tell if he was alive.
We found out he had been struck by a mortar so his arm basically was hanging off. He had to have a big operation and said he wouldnt be able to fight for 18 months.
She went on: I dont get anything for months, then an email, and think, Well, at least hes still alive.
We just want him home. If hes done something wrong Id like him to accept the consequences.
After attending a Catholic primary in Surrey, Kinney lived in Cairo, where his stepfather was working, attending the elite private Modern English School.
He grew his hair long, dyed it red, played electric guitar in a rock band called Hannahs Got Herpes - and posted pictures of scantily clad girls on Facebook.
Kinney - who had taken the nom de guerre Abu Basir al-Britani - was last reported to be living in the countryside in Idlib province, north west Syria, in 2018, with a wife and two children. If still alive, he is 35. This image is another still from a propaganda video
Kinney began Middle Eastern Studies with Arabic at Leeds University in 2009 but dropped out after a year.
He went to live with his father in Vienna, and there appears to have been radicalised.
Mrs Phipps said: I dont think he became involved in Islam at university. He liked drinking and smoking and girls, all things they cant do.
When Lucas went to Vienna - that was where everything changed.
We used to talk on Skype so we could see him - he had a beard and the robes.
His father said, His religion is very important to him.
Then Mrs Phipps suddenly heard from her son in Syria, saying of his emails: He kept using koranic phrases. and wants everyone to convert. Special Branch has been in touch of course.
In 2016, Kinney was considering volunteering for a suicide mission, telling a western journalist: My dream is to make martyrdom operation. God willing.
Two years later however he was reported to still be in Idlib, but with his wife and two children. There were so many Britons there Jaffa Cakes, Maltesers, Smarties and Rolos were stocked in shops.
Whether they have kept him alive for the victory he sacrificed his life in the west for remains to be seen.
