Briton killed in Kabul was delivering aid, not waging jihad, says his mother

War on Terrorism: Casualties

Yasir Khan's only "weakness'', his friends said yesterday, was a passion for cricket.

Apart from his membership of Eagles Cricket Club, where he received the Players' Player trophy in 1997, the young man from Crawley, West Sussex, spent most of his free time at a local mosque in a road named Martyres Avenue.

And a martyr is exactly what he became last Wednesday, the Islamic group al-Muhajiroun said yesterday, when he died during US-led bombing raids on Kabul. He had "gone to Afghanistan to wage jihad against the unjust policies of America", Hasan Butt, the group's leader in Pakistan, said.

Yesterday there were no proclamations of greatness from his widowed, asthmatic mother, no solace sought in the cause for which he gave his life. In her grief, Safia Khan, 50, was adamant that her son, who disappeared without a word a few weeks ago, had simply been delivering aid.

"Yasir had travelled to Pakistan before the air strikes on Afghanistan began," she said vehemently. "Yasir was a good Muslim. He was not a member of any extreme organisations. He just wanted to go out there and help people.

A spokesman for the family added: "The family is angry that his name is being linked with extreme religious groups. He had gone there to help members of his people, the Durrani, to distribute aid and food parcels, nothing more. He just wanted to help poor people, the innocent victims caught up in the conflict.''

Sayedha Ahmed, 23, who grew up with Mr Khan, described him as a "very quiet lad'' who was quick to offer a helping hand or a charitable donation. "He was not involved in any jihad groups. He was not that sort of person and it is a small community. We would have known,'' she said. "He just took off. If his mum had known, she would not have let him go.''

Mr Khan worked in close proximity to aircraft – dangerously close if al-Muhajiroun's claims are correct – at Gatwick airport, first as a mechanic and later working for a food company, LSG Chef. He was employed as a loader and driver for the firm between April and 13 September this year, and he was sacked for not accepting changes in work practices that were put in place following the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Yesterday, the company insisted that full security checks had been made before the 28-year-old joined the company.

"Aside from the disagreement which led to his dismissal, Yasir was a good worker," a company spokesman said. "His death has come as a shock to his former colleagues.''

The young man was certainly a devout Muslim, who would sometimes teach the Koran to local children. "He went to the local mosque every single day, praying five times a day and during Ramadan he spent three to four days there solidly,'' said Ms Ahmed.

The mosque – a small, prefabricated building, with its plastic-roofed extension and its floor covered in prayer mats – was one of the few places where Yasir Khan socialised.

Yesterday its chairman, Sharafat Hussein adamantly denied that the unremarkable building off the A23 had ever been a breeding ground for extremists.

"We would not welcome anyone involved in such activities, they would not be allowed to pray here,'' he said, describing Mr Khan as a "kind, gentle and quiet person''.

Neighbours in Crawley said it had been a shock to hear that a young man from their area had died in Afghanistan. The small street of net-curtained council houses on the post-war Sussex estate on which he lived certainly appeared an incongruous place for a "martyr''. It was here that Mr Khan grew up with his mother and his father, a "well-spoken former military man'' who died a few years ago.

Yesterday, friends said Mrs Khan had learned of her son's fate through family members in Pakistan who had seen his name in the papers. "It was a terrible shock for all of us,'' said Ms Ahmed. "Even his closest friends did not know where he was.''