Brit ISIS fighter vanishes after being RELEASED by Syrian captors amid row over UK refusing to take fanatics who want to come home

Shabazz Suleman, 33, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, had been held against his will since he abandoned the so-called caliphate in October 2017.

There are fears that the man may commit further crimes while he remains at large.

He had been held by the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) on the Turkey-Syria border, the Telegraph reported, but last month he was cleared of any wrongdoing by a Syrian opposition-run court in the city of Jarablus.

The court found him not guilty despite his admission that he joined the terrorist group, according to a commander who spoke with the news outlet.

Commander Abu Sleiman said that the court, which does not have international recognition, ruled there was not enough evidence to convict Suleman.

NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE – DESPITE CONFESSION

He was handed over to a charity operating in Syria a month ago, and promptly disappeared.

Suleman had claimed he volunteered with Turkish NGO Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) before joining ISIS in 2015, and it was IHH he was supposed to be transferred to by the FSA.

But a spokesman told the Telegraph that they didn’t know anything about that arrangement.

It is now not clear if Suleman remains in Syria, has crossed into Turkey, or has tried to get back to the UK.

Sleiman said Britain had shown “no interest” and repeatedly refused requests to discuss his case.

800 FOREIGN FIGHTERS HELD

With the caliphate rapidly imploding, the fate of foreigners who joined ISIS, or moved to Syria to take up as fighters' wives, has become an increasingly urgent issue.

In Syria the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are reportedly holding as many as 800 foreign fighters, with 700 of their wives and 1,500 of their children.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to release the fighters unless the UK and other European allies agree to accept them back and put them on trial.

The UK, which has taken the toughest stance, has refused repatriation calls, citing security concerns.

A government official involved in the discussions said Britain wanted the jihadists to face justice where they were captured.

I was just relaxed hiding in Raqqa with Syrian civilians.

Suleman, a grammar school student who turned down a place at university, said previously he had travelled to Syria to fight against President Bashar al-Assad but quickly became disillusioned.

He told Sky News in 2017: "When I saw ISIS fighting the Syrian regime and gaining results and the propaganda they were sending out to young Muslims like us… at the beginning it was more romantic jihad, protecting civilians – it wasn't about beheading or killing.”

He said he was there to help defend Syrians, but he saw ISIS change, and within a few months he wanted out.

He admitted receiving weapons training and was sent to fight but claimed never to have used his gun, and said he was imprisoned for trying to defect.

Suleman was released in Raqqa, and said he spent most of his three years in Syria “playing PlayStation and riding my bike”.

He added: “I was just relaxed hiding in Raqqa with Syrian civilians.”

He admitted to being naïve when he joined IS, but said the international community had abandoned Syria to its bloody war.

He was sent to the frontline, but claimed he spent almost his whole time acting as reinforcements.

It is thought Suleman, who is of Pakistani descent, has only British citizenship.

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