British jihadi who stabbed football fan in the head 'killed in airstrike' in Syria

Unconfirmed reports are circulating claiming that Abu Rahin of Luton has died fighting for ISIS

At least 16 airstrikes were reported in what is one of the coalition's most sustained aerial attacks on Raqqa (Getty)

A British jihadi who fled to Syria after stabbing a football fan in the eye with a pen is reported to have been killed in US airstrikes.

Abu Rahin Aziz – who went by the name Abu Abdullah al-Britani – was supposed to serve a 36-month prison sentence last year but instead skipped bail and fled the country to fight for ISIS in Syria.

The 32-year-old last year stabbed a football fan in the head in London’s West End for “insulting the Prophet Mohammed”, he tweeted at the time.

News of his death circulated on Twitter, with historian and Islam expert Pieter Van Ostaeyen being among those talking about it. The reports remained on Monday unconfirmed, however. Supporters of Isis and other radical Islamists shared the news widely.

Another tweet from a member of an English-speaking Islamist group the Tawheed Network said: Many of you are probably aware of the Shahada (InshaAllah) of my dear old friend & brother Abu abdullah al Britani. Please make dua for him.

A post retweeted by radical London preacher Abu Haleema read: “May Allah accept Abu Abdullah al-Britani [also known as dugmatimes/citizen of Khilafah] who got shahadah by a drone attack yesterday.”

Aziz was prominent on social media, tweeting under a number of accounts that have since been shut down. In January he used his account to incite violence among jihadis in the west, the Mail Online reported.

The militant had posted pictures of himself brandishing assault rifles and spoke about ways of destroying his British passport.

He tweeted that Muslims should find Home Secretary Theresa May and kill her. He also called for other MPs to be targeted in Lee Rigby-style attacks ahead of the General Election.

Aziz had been a member of the notorious Muslim Against Crusades group, which burnt poppies on Armistice Day five years ago.

The US carried out drone strikes close to the ISIS stronghold city of Raqqa on Saturday. The airstrike was the largest ever to be launched against Syria and is thought to have left ten militants dead, along with a number of civilians.

Eighteen of the strikes were near the Syrian city of Raqqa, capital of the 'caliphate' that Islamic State has declared.

The statement from the Combined Joint Task Force said tactical units and vehicles had been hit and 16 bridges had been destroyed.

Additional reporting by agencies