A family of 12 from Luton say they have arrived in Syria and have defended their decision to take three children into the war zone in a statement released through Islamic State militants, The Times can reveal.
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The other missing members of the family are the couple’s daughter, Rajia Khanom, 21, and sons Mohammed Zayd Hussain, 25, Mohammed Toufique Hussain, 19, Mohammed Abil Kashem Saker, 31, and his wife Sheida Khanam, 27, and Mohammed Saleh Hussain, 26, and his wife Roshanara Begum, 24, along with three children, aged between one and 11.
They allowed the second sister to fly out to Bangladesh to join her family two or three days after the stop, between late March and early April.
The statement is accompanied by two photos purportedly of family member Muhammed Abdul Mannan, 75, which have not been independently verified.
The family, from Luton in Bedfordshire, central England, have not been seen since May, when they failed to return home after a holiday in Bangladesh.
“We call all Muslims to rush to the comand of your Khalife”.
The news of their “fleeing” has left relatives and friends shocked.
On 29 June 2014 it announced the formation of a caliphate – a state governed in accordance with Islamic law or Sharia, by God’s deputy on Earth, or caliph.
Many still cannot believe that the statement or in fact their travel to Syria can be true. The statement was reportedly released by a member of ISIS on behalf of the family.
“It wasn’t by the command of a single person in the family but by the command of the Khalifah of the Muslims. Race to what will give you honour in this life and the hereafter”. “Hasten to the obedience of Allah”.
The video filmed by anti-IS activists shows the young girls carrying grocery bags and machine guns, covered head to toe in a niqab.
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A family of 12 are believed to have travelled from the United Kingdom to Syria to join the Islamic state group. It was understood they had flown back via Istanbul, the first port of call in Turkey for many would-be IS converts hoping to reach Syria.
