Jake Bilardi
Jake Bilardi, also known as Abu Abdullah al-Australi, dubbed by the media as Jihad Jake, was an eighteen-year-old Australian suicide bomber. Bilardi's background has been described as radically different from other Western recruits and symbolises youth issues more than ideological ones.
Life, radicalisation and death
Born in Craigieburn, Victoria, Bilardi was a shy, lonely boy and student who was reportedly bullied by peers. Bilardi kept a blog describing his disdain for United States forces committing crimes against Muslims in the Middle East. He became radical after his mother died of cancer. By 2014, he expressed sympathy for Osama bin Laden on Facebook. Concerned that the Australian government was monitoring him, Bilardi turned to building explosives in the event he would not be able to leave the country. A recruiter for Jabhat al-Nusra made contact with him in August 2014 and he left for Iraq.Bilardi died in a suicide attack in Ramadi, Iraq on 11 March 2015. The Iraqi Army stated Bilardi's attack was unsuccessful, killing only himself. Other reports said 17 people were killed in the attack. ISIL used his death as propaganda, in order to recruit more people to become suicide bombers.
According to a friend, Bilardi was concerned his family would "spend eternity in hell" for being non-believers.
A blog post attributed to Jake said,
"I was intrigued, why would a group of people living in caves in Afghanistan want to kill innocent American civilians?"
He was an aspiring journalist and a curious intelligent student, when he researched the issue more deeply he quickly found the version in the headlines is not the full story, but then became further radicalised eventually developing a hatred of the United States and their allies, including Australia.
In addition to the blog he was very active on twitter, promoting Islamic State.