Sundays 60 Minutes will see Michael Usher speaking with the family and friends of Jake Bilardi, the Melbourne teenager who travelled to Iraq to undertake a suicide bombing for IS.
Jake Bilardi went from smart, soccer-mad teenager to suicide bomber. Source: News Limited
JOHN Bilardi doesn't know who 'Jihadi Jake' was. He doesn't recognise his quiet, intelligent teenage son in the suicide bomber who blew himself up in an attack on Iraqi forces last week.
In a heartwrenching interview with 60 Minutes, which airs at 8.30pm on Nine tonight, John will apologise to Australia, telling the country he blames himself, and he wishes he could have stopped what happened.
John Bilardi told Michael Usher he blames himself for what his son did. Source: Supplied
The family are struggling to reconcile their memories of Jake with the militant he became. Source: Supplied
The Bilardi family is in shock, and still searching for answers. They had no idea that Jake had joined the Islamic State until they heard about it through the media.
The radicalisation of this ordinary Melbourne teenager is a frightening tale. "Jake was a troubled kid, he was highly intelligent but emotionally distant," says 60 Minutes reporter Michael Usher, who spoke to the 18-year-old's family and friends. "He was a shy boy, but hard work from a young age."
Jake's parents divorced when he was young, and their split was bitter and divided the family. His mother died two years ago. The youngest of six siblings, Jake felt alienated from those around him.
His teachers and relatives hoped his problems would ease, but instead, they manifested themselves in a schoolboy who was a loner, frequently aggressive, and bullied at school for being different.
"He was passionate about the Middle East," Michael told news.com.au. "He would talk about Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay ... he was a very serious kid."
An image of Jake released by IS's media unit allegedly shows him driving to his death. Source: Supplied
The propaganda video claims this is the car in which the Melbourne jihadist tried to blow up Iraqi troops. Source: AFP
At 15 years old, Jake decided to become a Muslim, and began going to a local mosque and attending an Islamic youth group. His atheist family were surprised, but accepted his decision. He seemed very comfortable with the decision.
What they didn't know was that Jake was being groomed by violent extremists — who weren't Muslims he knew in Australia, but people brainwashing him over the internet.
Unknown to those around him, the Craigieburn teenager maintained an articulate blog, which chillingly traces his progression from talking about soccer to discussing his hatred of Israel. "I woke up to the reality of these pigs and monkeys and accepted that there is nothing between us and them but the sword," he wrote.
Writing under his new name, Abu Abdullah Al-Australi, Jake called Australian society "corrupt and filthy", praising terrorists Numan Haider and Man Haron Monis for attacking his home country.
"He was living a second life," said Michael. "He was disconnected here but completely connected online."
The Islamic State saw the Melbourne teenager as a great prize. Source: Twitter
The teenager in Year 10. Source: News Corp Australia
Jake in Year 9. Source: News Corp Australia
In a final email to his family, Jake told them he was happy. Source: No Source
Posts on his Yahoo Questions account used to look like those of a normal teenager: "Is Russia part of Asia or Europe? Me and my brother were having a debate," he wrote. Five years later, he was defending the Taliban and asking about booking a one-way ticket to Turkey.
"He was as easily recruited as it would have been for him to book a month's backpacking," said Michael. "He was euphoric about being accepted by IS."
Last year the Year 12 student disappeared, telling his family he was going to Uganda to do charity work. Instead, he travelled to notoriously hard to negotiate Iraq and Syria, where he was chaperoned to his destination.
"He was a prize," said Michael. "A young, white Australian teenager. He was an amazing piece of propaganda."
His writings reveal how Jake was welcomed with open arms. He was delighted, finally feeling he had found his destiny. Soon, he was writing about suicide missions, saying he "couldn't wait for his path to martyrdom".
An IS image allegedly showing the aftermath of a suicide attack on Ramadi. Source: News Corp Australia
Jake's classmates remember him as quiet and intelligent, Source: Supplied
Jake had some email contact with his desperate family. In his final message, he said he was happy. Then he drove an SUV laden with explosives into an Iraqi army outpost in Ramadi.
John is at a loss, fearful and blaming himself for what his son did. Terrifyingly, Jake had a Plan B, to murder innocent Australians with bombs, grenades and guns in a crowded spot in Melbourne. He had been storing bomb-making chemicals at his family home.
The most frightening thing is how simple it was for extremists to manipulate a troubled suburban teenager in a distant country to give up his life for their twisted dream of a global caliphate.
After his death, an Iraqi military spokesperson said the attack had achieved almost nothing, with no fatalities, a few injuries and some damage to vehicles. IS-linked social media claimed his actions were part of a co-ordinated suicide attack in Ramadi, with 13 car bombs claiming 10 lives and injuring 30.
Their propaganda jeered that Jake had "sold his soul to Allah for a cheap price".
Now his family will have to start coming to terms with that thought, and rebuilding their lives.
See the full story on 60 Minutes at 8:30pm on Nine tonight.
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