A Bangladeshi-origin UK family of 12 who went missing have joined so-called Islamic State and are ‘safer than ever’, according to a statement said to be on their behalf.
The statement, purportedly sent by a member of IS, said it was ‘outrageous’ to suggest the family had been kidnapped and forced to join the group, reports BBC.
It called on all Muslims to join them and ‘hasten to the obedience of Allah’.
The family from Luton has not been seen since 17 May and includes three children aged between one and 11.
Police have previously said they may have travelled to Syria.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify if the statement, which includes two photos purportedly of family member Muhammed Abdul Mannan, is genuine.
The statement, passed to the BBC by a Briton fighting with IS, said the family had arrived in a land that was ‘free from corruption and oppression’ and had not been ‘commanded’ to join by a single person but by the ‘Khalifah of the Muslims’.
It said: ‘We say to those that are concerned for our safety to put your hearts at rest for we feel safer than we have ever felt before.
‘We call all Muslims to rush to the command of your Khalif. Race to your state. Race to what will give you honour in this life and the hereafter.’
The Islamic State group has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria since last June, becoming notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings.
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.
The family was reported missing to police by two sons, understood to be Mannan’s from a previous marriage, who live in Luton.
The family flew to Bangladesh on 10 April, police said, and then to Istanbul on 11 May.
They were due back at Heathrow three days later but failed to return.
It is believed Khanom had links to banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, which had members in Luton.
eanwhile, it has emerged that two sisters from another Luton family were prevented from flying to Bangladesh by counter-terror police shortly before the family of 12 went missing.
Officers seized the passport of one of the sisters, who is in her 20s and is said to be linked to the banned radical group Al-Muhajiroun.
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, purportedly sent by a member of IS, said it was ‘outrageous’ to suggest the family had been kidnapped and forced to join the group, reports BBC.
It called on all Muslims to join them and ‘hasten to the obedience of Allah’.
The family from Luton has not been seen since 17 May and includes three children aged between one and 11.
Police have previously said they may have travelled to Syria.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify if the statement, which includes two photos purportedly of family member Muhammed Abdul Mannan, is genuine.
The statement, passed to the BBC by a Briton fighting with IS, said the family had arrived in a land that was ‘free from corruption and oppression’ and had not been ‘commanded’ to join by a single person but by the ‘Khalifah of the Muslims’.
It said: ‘We say to those that are concerned for our safety to put your hearts at rest for we feel safer than we have ever felt before.
‘We call all Muslims to rush to the command of your Khalif. Race to your state. Race to what will give you honour in this life and the hereafter.’
The Islamic State group has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria since last June, becoming notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings.
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.
The family was reported missing to police by two sons, understood to be Mannan’s from a previous marriage, who live in Luton.
The family flew to Bangladesh on 10 April, police said, and then to Istanbul on 11 May.
They were due back at Heathrow three days later but failed to return.
It is believed Khanom had links to banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, which had members in Luton.
eanwhile, it has emerged that two sisters from another Luton family were prevented from flying to Bangladesh by counter-terror police shortly before the family of 12 went missing.
Officers seized the passport of one of the sisters, who is in her 20s and is said to be linked to the banned radical group Al-Muhajiroun.
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.
Source: New Age