Nasser Muthana's father denies son is in beheading video

Nasser Muthana's family said they were "heartbroken" he had gone to Syria

The father of a Cardiff man thought to be pictured in a video showing the beheading of Syrian soldiers has denied it is his son.

Ahmed Muthana, said 20-year-old Nasser Muthana was not among the 16 jihadists in the Islamic State video.

Mr Muthana, of Butetown, Cardiff, said he had not seen the footage, but was able to confirm it was not his son from images he had seen.

The video announced the murder of US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

The Daily Mail reported that Muthana was in the video and quoted his father as saying: "It looks like my son".

But when he was shown the pictures by a BBC reporter on Monday, Mr Muthana said: "It doesn't look like him, much difference.

"This one's got a big nose, my one has a flat nose."

Mr Muthana said he would not welcome his son back into his home if he returned to Cardiff.

But he would not comment when asked what he thought of his son's alleged actions.

The man who was believed to be Muthana is standing to the right of a Briton thought to be "Jihadi John", who is dressed in black with a balaclava, while the rest of the militants wear army fatigues.

Western intelligence officials are trying to identify those seen in the video.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Lewis from South Wales Police said reports "regarding the involvement of Cardiff individuals in a mass execution in Syria" were being investigated, and details had been passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

He added: "Cardiff has a strong and peaceful Islamic community which has long distanced itself from the extremist views reported."

A still from an IS video reportedly showing Nasser Muthana in Syria

Muthana, an aspiring Cardiff medical student, 20, came to the attention of the world in June when he appeared in a propaganda video by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [Isis] urging others to join him.

He was seen alongside another man from Cardiff and a man from Aberdeen.

Mr Muthana's other son Aseel is also thought to be in Syria and has previously said in a BBC interview he had no intention of returning to the UK.