Islamic State says Irish jihadi 'Khalid Kelly' carried out Mosul suicide attack

An Irishman named Khalid Kelly was one of the five men who carried out suicide attacks to the west of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday (4 November), according to Wilayat al-Jazirah, the media wing of Islamic State. The news outlet shared a picture of Kelly, naming him as "Abu Usama al-Irlandi".

Kelly was pictured standing in front of a standing in front of a VBIED (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device), apparently before the attacks were made against pro-government forces in the Niniveh governorate.

Kelly, who was in his late 40s, had developed a notorious reputation, and was once arrested for threatening to kill President Barack Obama.

Born Terence Kelly in Dublin, he was also known as "Taliban Terry". He is understood to have been killed after he drove an armoured truck packed with explosives at Iraqi troops.

In a statement, IS (Daesh) wrote: "Brother martyr Abu Osama Irelandi, may Allah accept his soul, attacked a group of animals from the Hashd [Shia militia] in the village of Ghzayel Al-Kabi."

Kelly was born Catholic but after he went to work at a Saudi Arabian hospital in the 1990s, he was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol at his home. He converted to Islam while serving out his sentence at a Saudi prison.

The attacks took place just a day after IS released a new audio recording said to have been made by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A voice identified by SITE Intelligence Group can be heard encouraging his fighters "not to give up an inch or retreat". Mosul isn't mentioned by name, but its province Ninevah, which is located in the northern part of the country, comes up.

"To all the people of Nineveh, especially the fighters, beware of any weakness in facing your enemy," he is understood to be saying.