Three Westerners, including a British man and American woman, are killed in Syria during ambush by government forces

A British man and an American woman are believed to be among three Westerners killed in an ambush by government forces in Syria who claimed they were carrying out the orders of an al Qaeda-linked terrorist cell.
Ali Al-Manasfi, 22, from London, and Nicole Lynn Mansfield, 33, from Michigan, were reportedly killed when their VW car was sprayed with bullets by Syrian troops in Idlib province, near the Turkish border on Wednesday.
Broadcasting images of what appeared to be their passports, Syrian state television claimed the pair - along with another Westerner - were members of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra group and were caught taking pictures of military positions.
Mr Al-Manasfi's family from Acton, west London,today said they were waiting for confirmation from the Foreign Office but feared the passport shown was genuine.

Brit fighting abroad: What appeared to be the passport of Ali Al-Manasfi, 22, from London, was broadcast on Syrian state-run TV

Nicole Lynn Mansfield was shot dead by Syrian government forces along with two other Westerners - reportedly both British - The 33-year-old is from Flint, Michigan and converted to Islam several years ago following marriage to an Arab man

This close up picture shows a British passport (left) and the passport of Nicole Lynn Mansfield (right) - who both died in a gunfight with Syrian government forces

A family spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: 'We are sitting tight to hear but it looks like it could be him.'

They said he had been in Syria for four months, but had 'disappeared' a few weeks ago.

Yesterday 33-year-old Nicole Lynn Mansfield, from Michigan, was revealed as one of the dead after Syrian state television broadcast images of her passport on Wednesday.
The attack is said to have happened a week after British doctor Isa Abdur Rahman, 26, a graduate of Imperial College London who had travelled to the country to treat injured civilians, died when a makeshift hospital was shelled in Idlib province.
And as news of their deaths filtered through the Western world, it was claimed that Moscow is unlikely to deliver a promised shipment of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian government before the autumn - a move said to be retaliation for the European Union's controversial decision this week to lift an arms embargo on Syria.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes Bashar al-Assad's regime, has reportedly suggested the trio were working with rebels.
A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of the claims. We have no verification, but are seeking information.
'The UK has warned for some time against all travel to Syria.'
Britain has withdrawn all diplomats from Syria amid the escalating bloodshed.
Syrian state television said that Mansfield was shot while driving in Idlib in the northwest of the country and aired her license in which she is seen to wear an Islamic headscarf and her address listed as Flint, Michigan.

Gunned Down: Syrian state television showed the vehicle the woman was traveling in with a British man that appeared to be riddled with bullets

The news report speculated that Mansfield was a terrorist and said that she was shot alongside two people from the UK.
Family members in Michigan confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that the images seen on Syrian television are of Mansfield.
'I am sick over it,' said the deceased woman's aunt, Monica Mansfield Speelman. 'I didn’t think she was (a terrorist), but God only knows.'
Speelman confirmed that Mansfield met an Arab man several years ago and converted to Islam and began wearing a hijab and headscarf.

'Inspirational': Dr Isa Abdur Rahman left his post at a London hospital to volunteer in Syria

However, Speelman added that the couple divorced three years ago after he was unable to get a green card.
Speelman claimed not to know the name of the Arab man, nor why her niece was in Syria - although she added that her niece's conversation 'bothered' her.
However, Mansfield was adamant that Islam was the right choice for her.
She told people 'that the best way of life was to be a Muslim. And that women should wear scarves...women should always over their head,' Nicole’s grandmother, Carole Mansfield, 72, told the Free Press.
Nicole Lynn Mansfield reportedly grew up in Flint, Michigan to Baptist parents and her father used to be a production worker for GM.
She attended Mott Community College and worked as a home health care worker for 10 years according to her grandmother.
'She had a heart of gold, but she was weak minded,' Mansfield said. 'I think she could have been brain washed.'
'As we do in all such cases, we are working through our Czech protecting power in Syria to obtain more information, and we appreciate the efforts of the Czech mission on behalf of our citizens,' the official said.
He added that U.S. authorities could not comment further 'because of privacy considerations.'
Syrian state television on Wednesday released what it said was the name of an American woman who was killed in Idlib province as well as the name of a man who it said was a British citizen killed in the country.

Harem town, Idlib, Syria - where the shooting is alleged to have taken place

Up until Thursday there had been no independent verification of the report or of the woman's identity.
U.S. officials said they were aware of material posted on the Internet indicating that the woman may have been a resident of Michigan.
Reports claimed the three people were ambushed by government forces in their car while traveling through the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria - which has been a flashpoint during the two-year-long civil war in the troubled nation.
The television footage showed a black car riddled with bullets and three bodies laid out also with multiple gunshot wounds.
The MailOnline has seen these images but is not publishing them.

This image from Syrian state television shows the alleged cache of weapons the three Westerner were carrying, their passports and a hand drawn map of a government installation (top right - folded)

Other images shown on Syrian state television include an alleged cache of weapons the three were carrying, a hand drawn map of a government military facility and a flag belonging to the al-Qaeda affliiated al-Nusra Front.
The three dead Westerners are all reported to be Muslim.
They died on the same day 'Inspirational' Dr Isa Abdur Rahman, 26, was killed after leaving his position at London's Royal Free Hospital to volunteer with a British charity in the conflict-ridden country.
The married doctor - who has been described as 'kind and deeply caring' - was injured on Wednesday morning when a shell hit the secret clinic in Syria's Idlib province.
Dr Rahman died shortly afterwards.

Bitter fighting: Dr Rahman began working in conflict-ridden Syria - where a car is seen burning in the wake of shelling by government forces near Damascus this week - almost a year ago

Aftermath: Civilians inspect the damage at Arbaeen, near Damascus on Thursday following what activists claimed was shelling by forces loyal to the Assad regime

Two other civilians died and two more people were wounded by the attack, which charity Hand in Hand for Syria has blamed on government forces, a report in the Times said.

Dr Rahman's devastated wife, parents and siblings were too upset to speak in the wake of the tragedy.

The 26-year-old, described as 'brave' and 'dedicated' by the founder of the charity, was from north west London, and trained at Imperial College before taking up a post at the Royal Free.

He flew to Syria almost a year ago after deciding to put his medical expertise to use helping civilians caught up in bitter fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to oust his regime.

He flew to Syria almost a year ago after deciding to put his medical expertise to use helping civilians caught up in bitter fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to oust his regime.
Meanwhile, Moscow is unlikely to deliver a shipment of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria before the autumn, an arms industry source told the Russian news agency Interfax on Friday.

Arms deal: Russia has refused to scrap plans to provide Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, pictured, saying they will be a 'useful deterrent' to intervention in the country's conflict

Deadly: File photograph of Russian air-defence S-300 missiles being prepared for launch at a military training ground in Russia

Aid: A truck carrying supplies sent from Russia to Syrian refugees in Jordan is unloaded today

The source also indicated the timing of the delivery of the arms, which has alarmed Western governments, would depend on the development of the situation in Syria.
The head of Russian aircraft maker MiG said separately that Russia was counting on providing Syria with 10 MiG-29 fighter planes, and was discussing details with a Syrian delegation, RIA news agency said.
However, Syria claimed yesterday it has already received the first shipment of Russian missiles that are part of a more sophisticated air defense system, President Bashar Assad bragged today.
Bashar Assad's comment on the arrival of the long-range S-300 air defense missiles in Syria could further ratchet up tensions in the region and undermine efforts to hold U.N.-sponsored talks with Syria's warring sides.
Israel's defense chief Moshe Yaalon said earlier this week that Russia's plan to supply Syria with the weapons was a threat and that Israel was prepared to use force to stop the delivery.

Civil war: President Bashar al-Assad's government is embroiled in a 26-month-long conflict with a Western-backed insurgency

The shipment of the missiles, if confirmed, comes just days after the European Union lifted an arms embargo on Syria, paving the way for individual countries of the 27-member bloc to send weapons to rebels fighting to topple Assad's regime.
The developments raise fears of an arms race - not just between Assad's forces and the opposition fighters battling to topple his regime, but also in the wider Middle East.
Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria in recent months that are believed to have destroyed weapon shipments bound for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group that along with Iran and Russia is a staunch Assad ally.
With the Russian missiles in Syria's possession, the Israeli air force's ability to strike inside the Arab country could be limited since the S-300s would allow it to counter airstrikes.
The S-300s have a range of up to 125 miles and the capability to track and strike multiple targets simultaneously.

DAILYMAIL