Police search the home of Salma and Zahra Halane, the twin sisters believed to have fled to Syria

[Admin]

Twin schoolgirls who followed their jihadi brother to Syria were hard-working students who hoped to train as doctors.

 

Sixteen-year-olds Salma and Zahra Halane, who last summer achieved 28 GCSEs between them, left their parents’ home in the middle of the night and caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border.

 

Police said the pair are thought to have followed their elder brother, who ditched his own ‘excellent’ academic career to join the ISIS terror group around a year ago.

Salma (left) and Zahra Halane (right), who last summer achieved 28 GCSEs between them, left their parents’ home in the middle of the night and caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border

 

Friends said the twins had appeared to be typical teenagers, pouting for selfies and shopping at Primark – but they are now feared to be training for battle.

 

Last night a rebel fighter boasted that he was teaching girls as young as 16 how to fight. Yilmaz, a Dutch national who has been in Syria for two years, told Sky News: ‘It’s extremely easy to get here. People go on holiday ... they end up in Syria.’  

 

The twins’ parents raised the alarm last month, after finding the girls’ beds empty and their passports and clothes missing.

 

A former neighbour said the couple had been ‘quite strict’, and did not allow the girls to ‘mix with other children on the street’. Others recalled that the twins wore headscarves when they were as young as nine. But Rhea Headlam, who sat next to Zahra in primary school, said they were ‘just normal teenage girls’.

 

‘I’m really shocked – I used to bump into them at Primark,’ she added. ‘They were both really clever.’

 

Last summer Salma achieved 13 GCSEs – 11 of them at grades A* to C – while Zahra passed 15, of which 12 were A*-C. The results put them in the top 10 per cent of their year group at Whalley Range High School for Girls in Manchester.

 

They went on to study at Connell Sixth Form College, where fellow students said they hoped to follow in the footsteps of their elder sister Hafsa, 25, who is at medical school in Denmark after graduating from Manchester University.

‘The twins both have aspirations to become doctors – that is their ambition,’ said one. Another claimed it was ‘typical’ of the girls to head to Syria ‘after they had finished term’, adding: ‘They wouldn’t want to mess up their education.

 

‘I’m shocked they have gone. They didn’t seem to be radical or extremist in their views.’

 

It emerged yesterday that the girls’ devoutly Muslim Somali refugee parents and their 11 children had been moved from an estate made famous by the TV series Shameless to an upmarket suburb, after telling the council they needed more bedrooms.

 

They were given a six-bedroom end-terrace despite the protests of the existing tenant. Yesterday the large back and front gardens were strewn with discarded household items and children’s plastic toys.

Police probe: Officers were seen leaving the house. The large back and front gardens were strewn with discarded household items and children's plastic toys

 

Neighbours said the twins’ parents were keen to share elements of Somalian culture with them, taking round dishes of traditional delicacies for them to try. The twins’ father Ibrahim is understood to teach at a nearby mosque, where leaders this week issued a statement repudiating extremism and opposing violence of all kinds.

 

Mohammed Shafiq, of the Ramadan Foundation, said the family were moderate Muslims who know all about the dangers of war-torn countries. ‘They were desperately unhappy to discover [their son] had gone to Syria, and they thought they were keeping a watchful eye on their other children. Then this happens,’ he said.

 

Sources believe Salma and Zahra were inspired by their brother’s transformation into a jihadi fighter, and became radicalised themselves while viewing extremist Islamist material online.

 

According to police sources, their brother also travelled to the family’s native Somalia, where he may have linked up with another Islamist terror group al-Shabab.

 

Officers are investigating how the girls funded their own trip, over fears they have been bankrolled by jihadi fighters who want them as their wives.

 

As many as 1,500 Britons may have travelled to Syria to fight alongside rebels. Many of them have posted messages online promising to use their ‘terror skills’ if they return to Britain.

Source: Dailymail.co.ukhttp://www.somaliaonline.com/police-search-the-home-of-salma-and-zahra-halane-the-twin-sisters-believed-to-have-fled-to-syria/

[Nin-Yaaban]

Walle waa aduunyo Gadoon. Hada maxaa labadaan gabdhood ku kalifay ineey waxaaa suubiyaan?

 

LoL i am glad i am not having any kids....could you imagine having to spend 16yrs of ur life taking care of someone, only for 'em to end up embarrassing you? Nope.

[Adam]

So much potential so little common sense :-( . ^ Hablahan iyo wilal aay isku age yahey RAG ajinabiha oo waaweyn baa masxkada ka qabsadey oo ugu talagaley iney wilshana dilaan hablaha xasaska ka digtaan oo bariga dexe u joogan . Walidkee somalida inta badan carurta ma la tashadaan oo uma sheegan siyasada iyo dhbita bariga dexe tassi wexey kenysa dibtan oo kale. They have been misguided and misled so wrong .

[Che -Guevara]

Who's radicalizing these kids? More importantly, who paid for their ticket?

 

The reality of war will baptize them and kick some sense into thick skulls, but by then, it might be too late for them to get out.

 

I think there were two sisters from Norway that went to Syria as well?

 

What I don't get is Somalis taking keen interest in conflicts that have nothing to do with them. If you want to "help" Muslims, go to your country of origin and help displaced families. After all, charity is also important in Islam, not mention it is less dangerous.

[DoctorKenney]

<cite>

@Che -Guevara

said:</cite>

Who's radicalizing these kids? More importantly, who paid for their ticket?

 

The reality of war will baptize them and kick some sense into thick skulls, but by then, it might be too late for them to get out.

 

I think there were two sisters from Norway that went to Syria as well?

 

What I don't get is Somalis taking keen interest in conflicts that have nothing to do with them. If you want to "help" Muslims, go to your country of origin and help displaced families. After all, charity is also important in Islam, not mention it is less dangerous.

 

I agree 100%.

 

If more Somalis paid attention to what's going on in their country instead of Syria or Iraq or some other place, then Somalia's issues could be mitigated, if not resolved. There are hundreds of thousands of impoverished families in Somalia alone. So we should focus on them first.

 

Allah granted us wealth and prosperity. So it's better we use it to help those Somalis who were less fortunate than us.

 

Charity begins at home

[Guzel]

I don't know what they expect out there other than be the wives of multiple fighters. I hope they are back before they come to harm.

[LayZie G.]

I'm not sure why the columnist is highlighting the life story of extremists who are hell bend on destroying others.

 

What I want to know is what awaits the girls once they are caught, assuming that they are caught alive. Not their GCSE scores.

 

GCSE scores do not explain how the girls were able to flee their home overnight without their parents knowledge and/or involvement.

 

I also want to find out more about the Jihadi Twin's brother. Who is he, when did he leave the UK, and was he openly communicating with his sisters and parents, but especially his father? The family should have been under surveillance after the first disappearance. (The twin's Jihadi Brother)

 

What about the parents? Have the parents been investigated for crimes against humanity? Did they fund their Jihadi children's travel?

 

In total, how many children do these parents have and why are they popping more children when they cant keep an eye on the ones they have? ( I think I read somewhere that the parents have close to 11 children...OMG)

 

Who is this so called father Jihad of the twin girls? How can the so called father Jihad not have a role in his children's disappearance? Who are we kidding here?

 

I think I read somewhere that Father Jihad is a local Imam, doesn't that give us the answers we are looking for? Why is this man walking free?

 

 

We need answers, not GCSE scores.

 

Cheers,

 

LayZie G.

[Khayr]

اِتقِ الله

 

Lazie G., you remind me of the anti- islam bigots that make comments on news sites and other nonmuslim forums. The difference is that you still claim some sort of affliation with Islam. That part baffles me!

[Che -Guevara]

Khayr. Accusing someone of anti-Muslim bigotry seems a convenient way of glossing over serious issue.

 

How LayZie phrases her questions might sound anti-Muslim but the question remains how a seemingly, well-rounded, normal teenagers with bright future ended up in Syria. This is not first instance young Somalis going to wars.

 

Not much awaits these young girls in Syria, they are mere pawns or worse, they will passed around as wives to the next 'brother' of the last martyr. Surely, you understand the predicament these kids have put themselves in and the need to avert any similar events.

[Tallaabo]

<cite>

@Khayr

said:</cite>

اِتقِ الله

 

Lazie G., you remind me of the anti- islam bigots that make comments on news sites and other nonmuslim forums. The difference is that you still claim some sort of affliation with Islam. That part baffles me!

I am also of the opinion that not only the father of those girls should be in the radar of MI5 and the other security agencies but also all the mentally enslaved Arab wannabee Somali akhis in the UK. All the congregations of all the mosques in the country should also have secret agents present. I think the Brits are very lineant with the terrorits and their supporters.

I still don't understand why every bloody Arab tribal or political issue seen as a Muslim issue which must be solved or supported by all the Muslims of the world; where as no one even thinks about the genocides and oppression of other non-Arab Muslim communities elsewhere in the world. Has anyone heard of Arabs taking about the ban of Ramadan in China, or the Burmese Muslims, or the Central African Muslims, or the Kenyan Muslims?

[Khayr]

<cite>

@Tallaabo

said:</cite>

I am also of the opinion that not only the father of those girls should be in the radar of MI5 and the other security agencies but also all the mentally enslaved Arab wannabee Somali akhis in the UK. All the congregations of all the mosques in the country should also have secret agents present. I think the Brits are very lineant with the terrorits and their supporters.

I still don't understand why every bloody Arab tribal or political issue seen as a Muslim issue which must be solved or supported by all the Muslims of the world; where as no one even thinks about the genocides and oppression of other non-Arab Muslim communities elsewhere in the world. Has anyone heard of Arabs taking about the ban of Ramadan in China, or the Burmese Muslims, or the Central African Muslims, or the Kenyan Muslims?

 

Interesting! So do you think that you are a seperate entity from other muslims. Meaning that if you advocate for the " spying of muslims", do you think that your support for spying on muslims,

guarantees you - comfort and safety from those agents?

 

So when it benefits some of you - you are Muslim.

When it doesn't beenefit you, you are a Brit or an Americcan first.

 

Do you know the Islamic stance on spying on one another???

 

 

 

 

 

[ElPunto]

^Tallabo - why do you assume he(the father) isn't on their radar already? Why are you calling for further blanket scrutiny(and possibly more?) for the Muslim community in the UK? Do you think Muslims don't get enough harassment and problems with intelligence agencies in the UK already?

 

I'm tired of the fake moral equivalency of the Arab Muslim vs Non-Arab Muslims. Just because many Arabs can't see beyond their own problems doesn't mean Muslims get a free pass to ignore them.

 

Che - what is glossing over a serious issue? That adolescent girls get caught up in heroic derring-do and a religious appeal and make a foolish decision like this. Believe me these girls will pay dearly for this either over there or back in the UK if they ever make it out. Throughout history - young people have got caught up in faraway causes that represent something bigger than themselves. The best that can be done is to educate them about the realities on the ground and channel their youthful passion in a positive way to support oppressed Muslims in organized drives through mosques or MSAs.

 

Layzie - being her usual Ann Coulter-ish self!

[Che -Guevara]

Elpunto I am all for educating these kids. The issue is who facilitated their journey to Syria and who recruited them to begin with. I found it hard to believe these kids 'were just caught up in the moment'. It takes a bit of nurturing (indoctrination) and resources to get them where they are now.

 

These girls and others before them will indeed pay dearly, but the idea is to stop them before they go on just perilous journey.

 

 

[Khayr]

<cite>

@Che -Guevara

said:</cite>

 

How LayZie phrases her questions might sound anti-Muslim but the question remains how a seemingly, well-rounded, normal teenagers with bright future ended up in Syria. This is not first instance young Somalis going to wars.

 

Not much awaits these young girls in Syria, they are mere pawns or worse,

they will passed around as wives to the next 'brother' of the last martyr.

Surely, you understand the predicament these kids have put themselves in and the need to avert any similar events.

 

Did you know that when Abu Salamah, a sahabi that migrated twice (once to Ethiopia and another time to Madina Yathrib) passed away after the Battle of Uhud, his wife Umm Salamah became a widow with children. Can you guess who offered to marry him?

It was Abu Bakr first and then Umar ibn al Khattab (she said no to the two) and finally the prophet

صل اللهً عليعهِ وسلم (which she accepted).

There are many other practices where widows were married off. So it is a perfectly norma Islamic practice. So why take issue with that? I detect a little bias from your end that has been supplemented by daily trash aka the likes of CNN etc.

 

 

نىتُ المؤمن خىرُن مِن عملىه

 

The Intentions of a believer are greater then their actions. Hadith Sharif from the prophet

صل الله عليه وسلم

 

Meaning that Allah doesn't judge us by the end product or result but by our intentions inshallah.

 

 

[Khayr]

<cite>

@Apophis

said:</cite>

I can understand why white British people are concerned about jihadists fighting in Syria then returning back to merry old England (though I find it ironic that the British government is actively supporting rebels in that country yet are ready to jail its own citizens who partake in that rebellion).

 

Actually I lied, I don't understand it, due to the stinking hypocrisy.

 

And many don't see that hypocrisy. They only mimic what is dictated to them by way of the ever so "free" media. Why else would nomads be so passionate about two young girls?