Fathers' Appeal For Feared Syrian-Fled Children In Emotional Plea

The Fathers' Of Missing Children Feared Fled To Syria Is Heartbreaking

The husbands of two of the three British sisters feared to have taken their nine children to Syria wept on Tuesday as they begged their families to come home.

Akhtar Iqbal and Mohammed Shoaib broke down as they pleaded desperately for the group to return so they could return to their "normal lives".

Mr Iqbal's five children, Ismaeel, three, Mariya, five, Zaynab, eight, Ibrahim, 14 and Junaid Ahmed, 15, are among those who disappeared, along with his wife Sugra.

In a teary address he said: "I would like to appeal to my family. To my wife Sugra and my sons Junaid, Ibrahim, Ismaeel and my daughters Zaynab and Mariya.

"Please, please call me. It's been eight, nine days, you are out and we don't know where you are.

Image appears to show some of the Dawood family at the airport leaving the UK for Saudi Arabia. (L-R) Junaid Ahmed Iqbal, Ibrahim Iqbal, Zaynab Iqbal, Ismaeel Iqbal and Mariya Iqbal are believed to be pictured

"I miss you, I love you. All of you, I love you a lot. I can't live without you.

"To my family, please, please call me (so) at least I know where you are, are you safe?

"Especially my three-year-old son Ismaeel. I am worried about my daughters. Especially Junaid. You are 15. Please, if you watch this video, please ring me. Please contact me. I love all of you and I can't live without you.

"Please, Mariya, I love you. I don't know what to say, I'm shaking. I miss you. It's been too many days.

"Please come back home so we can live a normal life. There's nothing wrong. I miss you.

"That's all I want to say. I want them back."

Mr Shoaib's children, five-year-old Muhammad Haseeb and Maryam Siddiqui, seven, are missing. He appealed directly to his wife of 11 years Khadija.

"Please come back home with the kids, I know the kids can't live without me and you, please bring them home, they can't live without me," he said.

"We've been married 11 years, and we were in a perfect relationship, she knew it, please come back."

He added: "I'm not angry, please come back, everything is normal, come back to normal life please.

"They are young kids, seven and five. We had a perfect relationship, we had a lovely family, I don't know what happened. Please contact me whenever you want."

Shoaib pictured at a press conference late on Tuesday night

He wept during his statement and then sat with his face in his hands, breaking down again when family solicitor Balaal Khan described his last contact with his daughter.

"It was really his daughter saying 'Daddy, I love you, I want to see you'," he said.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said the force had been supporting the family, adding that officers started an investigation to establish their whereabouts and were "working extensively with authorities overseas to try and locate them".

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