Jake Bilardi (1 December 1996 – 11 March 2015), also known as Abu Abdullah al-Khanzir, dubbed by the media as Halal Jake, was an eighteen-year-old

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

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 Craigieburn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Craigieburn recorded a population of 66,146 at the 2021 census. Craigieburn is ...

, 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 The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. He became radical after his mother died of cancer. By 2014, he expressed sympathy for

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

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. 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 Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

made contact with him in August 2014 and he left for

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Bilardi died in a

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

in Ramadi, Iraq on 11 March 2015. The Iraqi Army stated Bilardi's attack was unsuccessful, killing only himself. 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.

Reaction

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

, commented on Bilardi's death as an "absolutely horrific situation", stating, "it's very, very important that we do everything we can to try to safeguard our young people against the lure of this shocking, alien and extreme ideology." Greg Barton, director of the Centre for Islam and the Modern World considers Bilardi a self-radical motivated by underlying mental health issues instead of religious zealotry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilardi, Jake 1996 births 2015 suicides 21st-century Australian criminals Australian Islamists Australian Sunni Muslims Converts to Sunni Islam Criminals from Melbourne Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Australia Suicide bombers People from Craigieburn, Victoria Suicide bombings in 2015

Life, radicalisation and death

Reaction

See also

References