Sacked airport worker Yasir Khan, killed in the US bombing of Afghanistan, went to the Middle East to get married, a friend said today.

Nisar Ahmed, 43, said Mr Khan, of Bilberry Close, Bewbush, Crawley, had been planning the trip since the summer.

Mr Ahmed, chairman of the Eagles Cricket Club and one of Mr Khan's closest friends, said: "He was a very religious man and he prayed five times a day but we never believed him to be extremist.

"For a Muslim that is quite normal and we were all quite envious that such a young man was so dedicated. We wished we could do it.

"I spoke to him two days before he was due to leave. We were talking about availability for the winter season.

"He said he was going to Pakistan to find a wife but I told he him couldn't go because he's a good player and we need him in the team.

"But he said he was definitely going to go because he wanted to find a wife and get married.

"He'd wanted to go in the summer for the same reason but I'd told him he couldn't because we were half way through the season.

"This time he was insistent. He'd planned it all before September 11 even happened."

Mr Khan, 28, was sacked from his job at Gatwick Airport two days after the attacks on the World Trade Center because he refused to switch from his job of driving and loading meals on to airliners.

His employer, LSG Sky Chefs, wanted him to do other work while planes were grounded in the aftermath of the attacks.

Mr Ahmed said: "I spoke to him after he lost his job and we all suggested that he could take legal action but he said there's loads more jobs and he didn't seem that bothered about it.

"We spoke about the attacks and like the rest of us he condemned the act. He said 'How can a Muslim go and do that?'

Mr Ahmed described Mr Khan as a quiet, well-liked man who enjoyed sport and going out with his friends.

He said: "None of us can believe what's happened to him. It has been a terrible shock."

Cricket club members are planning a tribute to Mr Khan.

Secretary Ish Jalal said members would be seeing Mr Khan's mother Safia and two sisters.

Mr Jalal, who last saw Mr Khan three weeks ago, said: "He was a quiet lad. He just came along and enjoyed the cricket.

"When I last saw him he appeared fine. He didn't mention he was going anywhere. We're all in a state of shock, firstly because he has passed on and secondly because of the way it has happened.

"Personally I would find it very hard to believe that he went out there to fight. It just doesn't make any sense.

"We don't know exactly what happened and at the moment our thoughts are with his family."

Mr Khan had been a member of the club in Langney Green, Crawley, for seven years. Three years ago he won the Players' Player of the Year award, when he was voted the most popular member.

Last night Sharafat Hussain, chairman of Crawley Islamic Centre, dismissed a claim that Yasir Khan was fighting for the Taliban as "rubbish".

He described Mr Khan, 28, as "a very kind, polite, gentle and humble person."

Mr Hussain said he did not know why Mr Khan had gone to Afghanistan but it was not to fight Western troops as claimed by Hasan Butt, leader of the al-Muhajiroun in Lahore, a Muslim organisation promoting an "Islamic renaissance" in Pakistan.

Mr Khan's body was buried in Pakistan and prayers were said for him at the London Road mosque.