An Australian jihadist killed in Syria in   March wrote to his unborn son wishing for him to die a martyr for the holy war, a new al-Qaeda linked magazine claims.
The same magazine carries an interview with another Australian fighter who appears to be Mathew Spencer, the Queensland soldier who joined al-Qaeda in Afghanistan 14 years ago.
Spencer is now training fellow jihadists in Syria, the interview published by al-Risalah magazine claims. 
The letter from Abdul Salam Mahmoud to his son is included as part of an obituary for the former Sydney preacher with the Street Dawlah movement.
Mahmoud, who died while his South African-born wife was pregnant, explains to his unborn son that he has named him "Hamza" after an uncle and companion of the Prophet Muhammad who he says is the "Amir of the Martyrs" in paradise.
"I named you Hamza because ??? I wish martyrdom for you; martyrdom comes through Jihad, and Jihad is the path I wish for you," the letter states.
"Be like a bullet in the Gun of Islam and let the Gun shoot you wherever Islam needs you and remember me in your Dua [prayers]."
Mahmoud, who frequently posted online about his exploits in Syria, had always claimed to be an aid worker rather than a fighter. And while the al-Risalah article states he started out doing aid work, it says clearly that he died in combat.
It also says that while he initially sought to join the Islamic State, he eventually sided with Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's offshoot in Syria and a fierce rival of the Islamic State, underscoring the competitiveness between the two groups to attract foreign recruits.
The article states that he died in a gunfight during an assault on government forces, which reportedly took place in the government stronghold province of Latakia.
His son is today about six months old. His widow Zaheeda Tshankie now lives back in South Africa according to her Facebook page.
Meanwhile the story of a man calling himself Usama Hamza Australi bears a close resemblance to that of Mathew Stewart, who served in East Timor with the Army's 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
Stewart was discharged with depression before travelling alone to Afghanistan and joining al-Qaeda in   August 2001. In the interview, he says he's now training special forces for Jabhat al-Nusra.
"[I'm] training tactically, working in small ??? I hate to use the word 'commandos' ??? high standard infantry tactics, long range patrols, reconnaissance patrols, ambushing, raids, sabotage, harassment behind enemy lines, reaction to combat, how to fight with the enemy in a guerrilla warfare scenario, targeting convoys, targeting installations behind enemy lines with no support, and so on."
He says he learned these skills with the Australian Army and used them in Afghanistan. There is no identifiable picture of the man however.
The magazine claims that Usama Hamza Australi has been living in the tribal belt along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan for the past 11 years and moved to Syria last year.
The man says he had "found it hard to fit in with the Australian society", which is consistent with reports that Stewart had struggled to adjust after his East Timor deployment.
He also says in the interview that the Islamic State has been an unintended blessing for al-Qaeda by showing the latter group is relatively "moderate".
"One of the greatest things about IS is that before people saw al-Qaeda and the mujahideen (in general) as the extremists and those that abstain from jihad as the normal 'moderate' Muslims ??? But now the truth has come out - the mujahideen are in fact upon the correct and 'moderate' path, with IS being the extremists. So I think that IS is a blessing in disguise for the Muslim Ummah."
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