A young Muslim whose brother died fighting in war-torn Syria has also been killed, their father has said.

Jaffar Deghayes, 17, is believed to have died at the weekend after leaving home near Brighton earlier this year in a bid to overthrow dictator Bashar Al-Assad's government.

His brother, Abdullah, 18, died in Latakia province in April after leaving the UK in January to reportedly take up arms with Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-affiliated group.

Yesterday the pair's brother, Amer, 20, who also travelled to Syria, relayed news of the death of Jaffar to their father, Abubaker Deghayes, back home in Saltdean, East Sussex.

Mr Deghayes said: "Amer sent me a message via the internet. All I know is that (Jaffar) was fighting against Assad and was killed in battle.

"I don't know much else. I can only hope and pray to God to accept him and have mercy on him."

The Deghayes brothers are the nephew of Omar Deghayes, who was held by the United States as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay detention camp between 2002 and 2007 after he was arrested in Pakistan.