A community will come together to support the family of a suspected IS bomber, says a local councillor.

Clr Erin Hill believes there is an enormous amount of support in Crosland Moor for the family of Mohammed Rizwan Awan, identified as the man behind a car bomb terror attack in Iraq.

And she says it is wrong for people to condemn his family for what has happened.

Awan, 27, was identified by his parents as the man named by terrorist group IS as Abu MuMusa al-Britani.

Clr Erin Hill

The group claim he killed 30 people in a car bomb attack last Monday, although Iraqi officials dispute the death toll.

Now, as his family in Crosland Moor wait for confirmation from British or Iraqi officials, Clr Hill has told of the support in the area.

“There has always been a sense in Crosland Moor of people pulling together. and a sense of pride in the feeling of community.

“This is a tight-knit community made up of many different groups and I think we are all in shock at what has happened.

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“I have seen postings on social media that he is evil and should rot in hell, but here is a man and a family who havve gone through a terrible tragedy.

“This was an horrendous one-off incident and we should show our strength as a community and support those who have been affected”.

Reports in the Examiner revealed that former Honley High School student Awan was lucky to escape with his life several years ago when he was the victim of a machete attack by a gang, and Clr Hill believes that could have been a factor in his radicalisation.

A suicide bomber who reportedly killed 30 people in Iraq who was named by Islamic State as Abu Musa al-Britani."

She said: “It is a complete tragedy. I know we are awaiting confirmation but his family are convinced it is their son and they are grieving.

“It is not fair that people should blame his family or the community for what has happened.

“I am upset that there are so many negative comments about this man and what has happened. I see so much good in our community here every day and we need to be trying to discover and to understand what has led this man to do what he did.

“Perhaps the effects of the trauma that affected him in the attack in May 2008 played a part in him becoming part of the terror group.

“I and the rest of the Crosland Moor community are in shock and we need to pull together to help everyone through this”.

Awan was pictured by IS smiling while holding an AK47 rifle.

He had left Britain with his wife, Sophie, last summer and told relatives they were planning a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

That was the last Awan’s family heard from him until the IS propaganda photo was released this week.