Rome, June 18 (IANS/AKI) A young Italian who converted to Islam and joined rebels seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been killed in Syria, an Italian daily said.
Citing intelligence and interior ministry sources, the Il Giornale daily named the youth as 20-year-old Giuliano Delnevo from the northwestern port city of Genoa.
He took the name Ibrahim on converting to Islam, but his family had no connection with the Muslim faith, the daily said.
The daily did not say when or where in Syria Delnevo was killed, or for which rebel group he was fighting.
It only said his body was identified from his Italian passport.
Italy's foreign ministry said it could not confirm Delnevo's presence in Syria.
Delnevo converted to Islam four years ago and recently posted online a photo of Muslim fundamentalist Adbd Allah Yusf al-Azzam, who inspired Osama bin Laden.
--IANS/AKI
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