Bradford Parents 'Heading To Syria' Attacked By Cousin For 'Taking Five Children Into War Zone'

Bradford Parents Attacked By Cousin For 'Taking Five Children Into War Zone'
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The family home in Bradford of Imran Ameen, 39 and his wife, Farzana Ameen, 40, who are thought to have taken their five children to Syria.
Pat Hurst/PA Wire

Two parents feared to be heading for Syria with their five children have been criticised by a family member for trying to take their family into "a war zone".

Urgent appeals have been made for information about Imran Ameen, 39, his wife, Farzana Ameen, 40, and their five children - Isma Imran 15; Moeen Imran, 14; Mohammed Muneeb Imran, 11; Ismail Imran, eight; and Mohammed Imran, five.

Police released pictures of the family, who are from Bradford, in a bid to help trace them and said they do not know if they have joined Mr Ameen's brother, who is thought to have travelled to Turkey in June.

The missing family of seven, last seen on October 5, bought a one-way ticket to Turkey and it is feared they are trying to get to Syria or Iraq.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Russ Foster said it is believed Mr Ameen's 30-year-old brother Rehan Noor-Ul-Ameen travelled to Dalaman, Turkey on June 29, from Manchester Airport.

Mr Foster said: "Rehan's current whereabouts and reasons for travel are not known at this time.

"We are unaware if the missing family have joined their brother. Rehan has not been reported missing to police."

Mr Foster said the Ameen family is believed to have travelled from Manchester Airport on October 6 to Antalya in Turkey but their current whereabouts are unknown.

He said: "We have established they travelled to Turkey on a one-way ticket and although this is being treated as a missing from home enquiry we are keeping an open mind and haven't ruled out that the family may intend travelling to Syria or Iraq.

"Police are continuing with their enquiries and are working with relatives who are still in the UK and local, national and international partners to locate the family.

"Lines of enquiry are currently being progressed with the Turkish authorities, a primary concern is the safety and welfare of the young children and the safe return of the family.

"I would urge anyone with information about the family's whereabouts to come forward and speak to police so that we can facilitate the family's safe return to the UK.

"Any piece of information, no matter how small, could help the UK or overseas authorities to locate the family so that they can be safely returned home to their loved ones."

Arshid Siddique, first cousin of both Imran and Farzana Ameen, who lives across the road, said: "I knew there was something not right here, then your worst fears are confirmed.

"My worst fears are they are going to a war zone, not for them, they are adults, it's for the kids.

"I can't understand it. I have three kids of my own, it beggars belief any mother or father would want to take their children to a war zone for whatever reason."

Mr Siddique said about two weeks ago Farzana Ameen took her mother back to live in Pakistan where her brother lives, then returned to Bradford.

She then told extended family that her husband, who worked selling car parts online, had a job lined up in Dubai and they were leaving imminently but without giving a definite date.

Mr Siddique said the rest of the family said their goodbyes then the family disappeared overnight, with no contact to say they had arrived in Dubai or how they were settling in to their new life.

He continued: "I think it was maybe a week and then the cops turned up. In the meantime there's been family thinking 'What's going on here?' We have not heard anything from them."

Mr Siddique said Farzana's brother in Pakistan is "heartbroken" and that he telephoned him to tell him what was happening.

When her brother rang Farzana, Mr Siddique said she told him: "I'm doing the best for my kids."

He said the family prayed five times each day but in his view neither adults were particularly religious. He described Imran as "quiet" before adding: "God only knows now, with the internet."

He said Farzana did not wear a face veil and had more English friends than Asian ones however he said their eldest girl, aged 15, was pulled out of school for home education.

He added: "We should have seen the signs. Even at that time there was something telling me something was not right. I never thought it was anything to do with what she has now done.

"I hope and pray for safe return, they will face the music but it is not about them, it's about the kids."

Plain clothes police today visited the father of Imran Ameen, who lives in the house next door to the family home, a well-kept three-bedroom, semi-detached house.

Officers spent an hour inside the house of Mr Ameen's father before leaving without comment to press outside.

Earlier this year sisters Khadija Dawood, 30, Sugra Dawood, 34, and Zohra Dawood, 33, also from Bradford, went missing after going on an Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia with their nine children.

It is believed they entered Syria to join the Islamic State group.

West Yorkshire Police said they were working with relatives who are still in the UK as well with the Turkish authorities to try and secure their safe return.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, of the Bradford Council for Mosques, said he did not know the family but appealed for the community to tell the police any relevant information.

Women of Isis
Twins Salma and Zahra Halane(01 of10)
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The 16-year-old schoolgirls from Chorlton, Manchester, followed their brother who had also gone to fight in Syria. They are now married to ISIS fighters, and told a reporter for their local paper that they spend most of their time indoors, leaving only with their husbands. Both twins, the daughters of Somali refugees, had achieved excellent GCSE results, 23 grades A*-C between them at Whalley Range High School for Girls. A twitter account linked to one of the twins shows a woman in a burka, with an AK47. It appears the account has since been removed.
Khadijah Dare aka Muhajirah fi Sham(02 of10)
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Khadijah Dare, a mother of one originally from Lewisham, has engaged in active recruitment of women for Isis. She left Britain in 2012 to live in Syria with her Swedish husband.Writing on Twitter under her name Muhajirah fi Sham, which means immigrant in Syria, Dare praised the killing of US journalist James Foley, saying: “Any links 4 da execution of da journalist plz. Allahu Akbar. UK must b shaking up ha ha. I wna b da 1st UK woman 2 kill a UK or US terorrist!(sic)”.In a recruitment video for the group, the 22-year-old can be seen firing an AK47, calling on Brits to come and fight. “Instead of sitting down and focusing on your families or focusing on your studies, you need to stop being selfish because time is ticking," she said.
Aqsa Mahmood aka Umm Layth (03 of10)
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Umm Layth was a prolific tweeter until she was identified in the press as 20-year-old Glaswegian Aqsa Mahmood.In her tweets, she urged Muslim men and women who could not come to fight to instead commit terrorist atrocities at home, praising the brutal murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, the bombing of the Boston Marathon and the shooting of soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas. "If you cannot make it to the battlefield, then bring the battlefield to yourself," she tweeted.Mahmood, who is now married to an Isis fighter, attended the prestigious Craigholme School and was studying radiography at Glasgow Caledonian University when she left for Syria. Her family reported her missing to police in November 2013.Despite praising al Qaeda terrorists and encouraging more attacks, her tweets betray her Westernised roots. One asks for someone to "make a Hijrah [pilgrimage] from Scotland already and bring me Irn-Bru.” She also tweeted with delight at receiving European food, including Pringles crisps and Nutella.
Al Khanssaa(04 of10)
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A close friend of Aqsa and a Brit of Somalian heritage, Khanssaa is described on Twitter as the "cook of the house" in Raqqa where several girls live. She tweets them offering up Nutella pancakes. Unlike many of the other girls who have tweeted about how their families disapprove of their mission to Syria, Khanssaa said she is following in the footsteps of her father who left her family to fight a holy war, though she does not specify where.
Umm Anwar / Umm Farris(05 of10)
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With the black flag of Isis as her profile picture, Umm Anwar, who also goes by the name Umm Farris, is one of the four British girls married to an Islamic State fighters who has only recently been identified by researchers. She is believed to be based in Raqqa, and recently said she was surprised to discover a ‘Yazidi slave girl’ from Iraq in a home she visited. As well as retweeting praise for Islamic State fighters and the Caliphate, she mentions shopping and joking with her friends in the city while her husband fights.
GreenBirds22(06 of10)
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Though much of her account extols the virtue of jihad, the third member of the British girl gang in Raqqa peppers her tweets with English slang, like ‘ain’t’ and calls her fellow ISIS wives ‘babesss’. Going under the name 'Black Banners' on Twitter, where her profile picture includes Osama Bin Laden, she suggested she is the second wife of a fighterShe tweets about being “bored” in Raqqa and asks her friends repeatedly to meet up and visit her. Her twitter also includes retweets of beautiful pictures and Vines, including a sunset at the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco, and a comedy sketch about accidentally dropping a cookie in milk.
UkhtiB(07 of10)
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A close friend of Anwar, the pair joke about their shopping habits on Twitter, arrange lifts, drink smoothies and cook each other food. Her background is unclear, but she hints that her family disapprove of her being in Syria, tweeting: “Your family will be the biggest test for you once you make Hijrāh. They're either with you or without you.”Much of her feed consists of retweets of local fighters and of Islamic sayings, as well as graphic pictures of the dead from Iraq, Syria and Gaza.
Umm Talib(08 of10)
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The fourth member of the group of girls in Raqqa, who calls herself Qad Af-Iahal Shuhada, has a son with her, and is believed to be from London or the south of England, having tweeted about leaving her Oyster card in the pocket of her abaya, a type of female Muslim covering, while she put it in the watch. A foodie, she recently retweeted a recipe for Vietnamese chicken with avocado and lemongrass spring rolls, then messaged her friend to tell her she was cooking for them. Other tweets include a picture of the girls out for dinner in Raqqa, eating hummus and pita with chilli and vegetables.
Umm Khattab(09 of10)
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One of the most prolific tweeters amongst the women in Isis is a British 18-year-old who goes under the twitter handle @UmmKhattab, who has tweeted about previously being based in the town of Manbij, close to Aleppo, tweeting sunsets from the rooftops, but has recently moved to Raqqa. "Best thing ive done in my 18 years in this world is come to the blessed land of shaam and leave Britain the land of kuffar," she posted in June.And she tweeted a dim view of the UK's plan to strip returning jihadists of their citizenship. "Uk government are funny im not returning to ur dirty society which has no moral values y'all r all uncivilised and need islam to liberate u," she wrote.
Sally Jones aka Umm Hussain al-Britani(10 of10)
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Formerly a rock musician in a local band, the 45-year-old mother-of-two from Chatham, Kent, is believed to have converted to Islam to marry a British Isis fighter Junaid Hussain. The couple are reported to have moved to Raqqa, leaving her children behind.Her Twitter account under the name Umm Hussain al-Britani, contains threats like "You Christians all need beheading with a blunt knife and stuck on the railings at Raqqa... Come here I'll do it for you."