The UK Foreign Office has confirmed that a Briton fighting alongside foreign-backed militants was killed in Idlib, Syria.

The 23-year-old man, named as Ali Almanasfi, was among three Westerners who were ambushed by Syrian government forces in their car while traveling through the northwestern province on Thursday.

Syrian state-run television reported that a 33-year-old American woman, identified as Nicole Lynn Mansfield, and the two others were members of al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.

The TV footage showed a black car covert in bullet holes and three bodies laid out with multiple gunshot wounds. It also showed a cache of weapons, a computer, a hand-drawn map of a government installation, and a flag belonging to the terrorist group.

“We understand that a British National has been killed in Syria. Their family have been informed and we are providing consular assistance,” said a Foreign Office spokesperson.

Britain has played a major role in fanning the flames of unrest in the Arab country by arming and training militants fighting against the Syrian government.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

HK