ISIS-affiliated websites claim that Ahmed el-Darawi, a former Egyptian police officer and parliamentary hopeful, had conducted a suicide attack in Iraq.

Websites allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed that an ex-Egyptian police officer had died in a suicide attack in Iraq earlier this year, al-Ahram Online reported.

Another website made similar allegations claiming that Ahmed el-Darawi, “an ex-Egyptian police officer and parliamentary candidate had repented and carried out a suicide attack in Iraq,” Egypt’s al-Masry al-Youm newspaper reported.

A photo of el-Darawi clad in a beard and holding a gun emerged over the weekend, adding to claims made by media reports.

El-Darawi’s family was under the impression that he had died in Turkey where he underwent medical treatment but were unaware of his alleged association with ISIS.

The family received news of their son’s death while he was supposed to be in Turkey.

“On May 29 [2014] people called us and said he died without giving us any more information,” his brother Haitham tweeted.

The Darawis held a funeral service for their deceased son before travelling to Turkey to find out more information about his death, where they first learnt of the ex-policeman’s militant affiliation.

However, Haitham maintained that the news of his brother were old and had merely resurfaced on Saturday.

It remains unclear where el-Darawi died. Media reports claim he died in a suicide attack in Iraq, while social media users say Syria.

Born in 1978 in Cairo’s upscale Maadi neighborhood, el-Darawi resigned from his post in 2007 in protest to the interior ministry’s polices, al-Ahram reported.

He repeatedly called for reforms in Egypt’s police following the 2011 uprising that ousted veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak and in 2011, ran for parliament as an independent candidate.

Fears of ISIS operating in Egypt continue to grow as the state news agency reported earlier this month that security forces raided a cell recruiting for the militant group which has taken control over large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

 
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