Jihadi 'Jake' a troubled loner, schoolmate of Melbourne convert says

A schoolboy from Melbourne's northern suburbs pictured abroad with a rifle and black ISIL flag has been described as a high school outcast who converted to Islam in Year 10.

The former Craigieburn Secondary College student, known only as 'Jake', was said to be a maths whiz who was often bullied.

Ulus Shefke, who was in the same year, told the Daily Mail Australia Jake converted to Islam in 2012, in Year 10.

"He came to school one day late in year 10 and just told us that he converted to Islam, but when we asked him why he would give us very vague answers," he said.

"'That's none of your business,' and 'I think I made the right choice'."

Jake had earlier been denounced by UK news media as "Britain's white jihadi", but it was revealed he hails from Melbourne's northern suburbs.

And his non-Muslim family is worried sick about him.

Fairfax Media has identified the 18-year-old only by his first name Jake, at his family's request.

He reportedly dropped out of high school mid-last year after converting to Islam and bought a one-way ticket to Istanbul, before making his way to Iraq and Syria to fight for Islamic State.

Last December a picture emerged on Twitter showing the meek-looking teen sitting between bearded men and holding an assault rifle in front of a black flag.

A Twitter user identified him as Briton "Jonathan Edwards" and said he had joined ISIL after failing to gain admission into a British university.

The tweet was picked up by British media outlets including the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph but the user then announced that he had "trolled" the media and that the story was fake.

Fairfax Media said it has now had the photograph positively identified by friends and also by members of two Melbourne mosques as that of a quiet, young convert who worshipped with them for about a year before disappearing.

Jake reportedly was an unhappy 16-year-old searching for spiritual answers when a school friend introduced him to Islam.

Jake's family was negative towards his new religion, people who remember him said.

During his final year of high school in 2014, Jake began visiting online forums where he met an ISIL recruiter, who encouraged him to join its fight for a so-called caliphate.

Last October, two months after Jake disappeared, he contacted his family to let them know he was in Iraq training for a "martyrdom mission" but called again a month later to say he was "too scared to do it and he prefers being a soldier".

Jake is since believed to have travelled to Syria.

The Australian Federal Police declined to comment.