The four Britons who died fighting

As a growing number of young British Muslims attempt to join the Taliban during the present Afghan conflict, details of the four recruits who died in American raids on the country have been revealed.

Afzal Munir, 25, was a computer engineering student at Luton University, who lived with his builder father, mother, three sisters and 11-year-old twin brothers. He is believed to have had close ties with the al-Muhajiroun group.

A close associate of his is the organisation's Luton representative who would only give his name as Shahed. Believed to be married, Munir reportedly attended al-Muhajiroun discussion groups at Luton University until they were banned, because of the organisation's stance against Jews and homosexuals.

However, Shahed denied today that Munir was a member of the organisation. He said: "He came to some of our meetings, as all Muslims do, but he wasn't a member of any group. He was independent and made his own mind up. He didn't have a violent mentality. He was shy and not at all outspoken. Islam is a way of life that gives a solution to people's problems.

"He must have decided that the way forward is physical action which brings you a place in paradise as a martyr."

Neighbours claim that over the past year he was "brainwashed" by fundamentalists. One said: "Afzal started growing a beard and acting differently. Last year he beat up a lecturer at the college and ended up going to court."

Aftab Manzoor, 25, was a driver who lived with his parents, two brothers and sister in Luton. He married two years ago during a visit to Pakistan, where his wife and six-monthold-daughter remain. Educated at Denbigh High School in Luton, where he achieved good GCSE grades, Manzoor was described by neighbours as a normal young man who enjoyed computer games and visiting the cinema.

He had travelled to Pakistan before the 11 September terrorist attacks on one of his regular visits to his wife and daughter Fatima. However, a few weeks ago, he made a mobile phone call to his father in which he revealed his plans to join jihad.

His father, who had forbidden his son three years previously to join the call to arms, moved to England from Pakistan about 20 years ago and his son divided his time between his father's homeland and Luton.

Muhamed Omar, from Luton, who was in his late thirties, was the oldest of the British Muslims killed. Omar is believed to have been the group leader who led the four men to join al-Muhajiroun's call to arms in Afghanistan.

It is not the first time Luton has been linked with fundamentalism. Ghulem Hussein, 28, was one of eight Britons convicted in Yemen of a terrorist bomb plot two years ago.

Yasir Khan, 24, was the youngest recruit of the four men and the only one to come from Crawley. He was not, however, the first young Crawley Muslim to join his brothers in Afghanistan. Last year, 18-yearold Omar Kyam left his family in the town to join a band of Islamic militants in Kashmir.

Kyam, former captain of the Sussex under-18 cricket team, was reportedly a member of a mosque in Broadfield, according to a spokesman for the Crawley Muslim Community, who said today: "Obviously people are aware of what happened and sympathise with the family and people have been to visit the family. I believe he used to attend the mosque in Broadfield."