Brighton teenager killed in Syria

A teenager from Brighton is reported to have been killed in Syria.

Abdullah Deghayes, 18, formerly of Arundel Road East, Saltdean, is thought to have been killed alongside rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

He is believed to have gone to Syria with his two brothers Amer, 20, and Jaffar, 16. Amer was reported to have been injured in battle by a shot to the stomach.

Abdullah went to Longhill High School and had been planning to go to Brighton University.

His father Abubaker Deghayes is reported to have said that his son went to Syria without his consent.

Abdullah’s uncle Libyan-born Omar Deghayes, 44, returned to Brighton in 2007 after being held without trial at Guantanamo Bay for five years.

Mr Deghayes, a victim of mistaken identity, was later paid compensation by the government.

Sussex Police said that the force received information on Monday 14 April suggesting that an 18-year-old man from Brighton had been killed in Syria recently.

It added: “Full details of the circumstances of the reported death are not known and we have been in contact with the family.”