British hacker allegedly killed in US airstrike in Syria

A US airstrike has reportedly killed a British citizen who rose to prominence within the Islamic State as a key figure in the group’s so-called ‘Cyber Caliphate’.

The Birmingham-born Junaid Hussain, who adopted the nom de guerre Abu Hussain al-Britani, had travelled to Syria in 2013, according to the Guardian.

Hussain is considered the second most prominent UK citizen to have joined IS after the west Londoner known as Jihadi John who beheaded Westerners in several IS videos.

As of late Wednesday, the US had yet to officially announce Hussain’s death, which could not be independently verified. The strike is believed to be a US military operation, rather than a CIA drone attack, the Guardian reported.

As part of “Cyber Caliphate,” Hussain allegedly aided IS in obtaining passwords for the US Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts in January and sending out messages in support of IS.  

In Britain, Hussain had reportedly been part of the hacker group Team Poison which gained access to the address book of former prime minister Tony Blair and published information from it. The hack earned him six months in jail in 2012.