Jaffar Deghayes made the heartbreaking plea to his mum before setting off to fight in the war-torn nation
A 17-year-old believed to have died while fighting the Assad regime in Syria asked his mum for a "cuddle" before he set of for jihad.
Family of Jaffar Deghayes paid tribute to him yesterday.
He is understood to have died at the weekend after leaving the family home near Brighton earlier this year to fight the Assad regime.
His father, Abubakar Deghayes, revealed how another of his sons, Amer, who is fighting in the war-torn country sent him a message informing him of the death.
Mr Deghayes said: “Amer sent me a message via the internet. All I know is that (Jaffar) was fighting against Assad and was killed in battle.
“I don’t know much else. I can only hope and pray to God to accept him and have mercy on him.”
Amer also contacted the family on April 14 to inform them of the death of Jaffar’s old brother, Abdullah, who died in April aged 18 fighting in Latakia province.
The two brothers left in January to take up arms with Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.
Amer, 20, who went to Syria last October with an aid convoy, is now the only brother still alive.
The Deghayes brothers are the nephews of Omar Deghayes, who was held by the United States as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay detention camp between 2002 and 2007 after he was arrested in Pakistan.
Prayers to Jaffar are being offered to family members and several people are paying tribute to his sacrifice in the war-torn country.
One message to his father Abubakar on Facebook, reads: “I offer you my deepest condolences on the death of Jafar we ask Allaah to accept mercy and forgiveness.”
Jaffar’s mother Elinas Abulsayen told how he left the family home in January this year, with his last words to her being: “Mummy, give me a cuddle.”
His family said Jaffar and Abdullah both left without warning - with Jaffar tricking her into thinking he needed his passport for ID at school.
Elinas said on the day the two brothers left she began to frantically call them but their phones were switched off.
She was then contacted on April 14 by Amer, via an instant messaging service, who told her that Abdullah had been killed.
It is claimed that he was shot while trying to help against an attack by government forces.
Amer went to Syria last October with an aid convoy.
The South East Counter Terrorism Unit (SECTU) and Sussex Police said they were aware of recent social media postings reporting the death.
A spokesperson said: “Whilst we will not comment on individual cases, reports like these remind everyone that the situation in Syria and Iraq is unsafe and that risk of injury, death or abduction remains for anyone travelling to that area.
“The Government advice continues to be that no one should travel to these war zones and that the most effective way to help the affected population is through humanitarian support.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has warned that at least five Britons were joining ISIS every week.
He said the Met were aware of more than 500 British nationals who had travelled to join the conflict - with many of them having already returned.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Syria.
“The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria, where all UK consular services are suspended.
“As we do not have any representation in Syria, it is extremely difficult to get any confirmation of deaths or injuries and our options for supporting British nationals there are extremely limited.”
This video shows Amer Deghayes urging young British Muslims to secretly leave home and help him wage holy war in Syria.
