Dr. Othman Abdel-Kian, a resident at the Barzilai Medical Center, was killed in fighting according to Arab media sources.

A doctor who worked as an intern at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon joined the Islamic State, the hospital confirmed on Sunday.

Fighters from the Islamic State marching in Raqqa, Syria, January 2014. – Photo: AP

Arab media outlets reported that the doctor, Othman Abdel-Kian, was killed while fighting with the terrorist group.

Abdel-Kian, said to be a 26-year-old resident from the Bedouin village of Hura, completed his medical studies in Jordan and passed the tests to receive a temporary medical license to practice in Israel. He began his residency at Barzilai Medical Center in February, according to the hospital.

Abdel-Kian chose to do an elective month at Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, where he was supposed to start in May. He never showed up and was never heard from. “Security officials questioned us about him,” the statement from Barzilai said. “That was when we found out he chose to join the ranks of the Islamic State.”

Last week it was reported that four Israeli Arabs from a town near Nazareth traveled to Turkey earlier this month with the intent of joining the Islamic State.

One of the four dropped out en route and returned home, where he told the families of the other three that they were planning to travel to Syria. The report said the families were told the three left their passports in their Turkish hotel, took a taxi to the Syrian border, and crossed it. Since then they have not made contact with their families.

Upon learning of their sons’ intentions, the families of the three contacted the Foreign Ministry and the Israel Police and even tried to get Interpol involved so that the young men would be arrested before they entered war-torn Syria.

Another Israeli Arab, Hamed Mohammed Habashi, from the Galilee village of Iksal, was reportedly killed with Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.621496