Debt-ridden killer was on bail for rape

TERRORIST Jihad Al-Shamie was on police bail for rape when he carried out the Manchester synagogue attack, sources revealed last night.

- By Chris Riches, Paul Jeeves and Michael Knowles

The Briton of Syrian descent was being investigated over an alleged sexual attack, said to have taken place earlier this year.

He is not believed to have other criminal convictions and was not known to counterterrorism police.

But he was reported to be struggling with debt after splitting up with his wife and young son at the time of his rampage.

Al-Shamie grew up with his two brothers Jawad and Kenan in north Manchester after a childhood in Syria. Their father Faraj is a respected trauma doctor who has worked for several NGOs in war zones across the world.

Passport

YouTube videos on the dad’s personal channel show adored children in bright dungarees playing in their back garden in Prestwich.

The Express understands Al-Shamie was granted a British passport in 2006 aged 16, but YouTube videos dating back to 1998 — he was eight years old — prove he was already in the UK.