20 April 2024

Entire British-Bangladeshi family to join ISIS are now dead

(Back L-R) Rajia Khanom, Mohammed Toufique Hussain, Mohammed Saleh Hussain, Roshanara Begum, Sheida Khanam (Front L-R) Muhammed Abdul Mannan and Minera Khatun -

A British-Bangladeshi family of 12 who fled their home to join ISIS in Syria are now all dead, reports the Mirror UK.

Three sons from the Mannan family were killed fighting for the extremist group while seven more - including three young children - died in an airstrike.

The elderly parents both died of natural causes. When they fled in 2015, it was reported Muhammed Mannan had diabetes and his wife Minera Khatun had cancer.

The Mannans included the oldest and youngest British people to have defected to ISIS.

The 12 relatives had not been seen in four years after visiting their home country of Bangladesh.

It is believed the family stopped in Turkey on their way home before entering the war-torn country.

At the time, a statement from relatives back in the UK said they were "devastated" and the disappearance was "out of character".

Speaking to the MailOnline, Mr Mannan's son Shalim said: "They are all dead. It's over, finished. We had been trying to find out for some time what had happened to them and it was only confirmed to us recently from Syria.

"It's a tragic end and we have drawn a line under it all and are now trying to get on with our lives."

On leaving the UK, the family included Muhammed Abdul Mannan, 75, and his wife Minera Khatun, 53, their 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. Joining them were extended family members Mohammed Saleh Hussain, 26, and his wife Roshanara Begum, 24, along with three children, aged between one and 11.

The family was reported missing to police by two sons, understood to be Mr Mannan's from a previous marriage, who live in Luton.

Two months after arriving in Syria, the family released a statement declaring their support for ISIS and their happiness at being in a land "that is free from the corruption and oppression of man-made law and is governed by the shariah".

It added: "Yes, all 12 of us and why should this number be shocking, when there are thousands and thousands of Muslims from all corners of the world that are crossing over land and sea everyday to come to the Islamic State?

"Don't be shocked when we say that none of us were forced against our will. In fact it is outrageous to think that an entire family could be kidnapped and made to migrate like this."

Speaking back in 2015, a community leader said he had known the family for 35 years, with Mr Mannan going to the local mosque a number of times a day.

He said no-one knew if they had joined a specific extremist Islamist group but people in his community had told him some women in the family might have been radicalised and taken the rest of the family with them to avoid detection.

The Mannan's Luton home is currently being rented out and neighbours said that they too had been informed by relatives that the entire family is now dead.

Kamruzzaman


More News