Shamima Begum, once a young girl from Bethnal Green who made headlines as a jihadi bride, has reappeared in public after years of being trapped in exile.
Leaving her family at the age of 15 to join ISIS, Begum faced the consequences of losing her British citizenship and being confined to a Syrian detention camp. Now 26, she expressed a desire to return home while speaking with the Daily Express from the camp, appearing frail and desperate.
While much attention has been on Begum, less is known about her school friends, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, who also ventured to Syria at a young age. The trio, once bright students, took a fateful journey that altered their lives forever.
Caught on CCTV footage at different points along their journey, the girls were seen making their way to Syria, where they later married ISIS fighters. Begum claimed to be a housewife, but intelligence sources suggested she had a more sinister role.
Sultana, who married an American ISIS fighter, reportedly expressed fear and a desire to return home before her tragic death in a Russian airstrike. Abase, who married an Australian ISIS member, also met a grim end in a drone strike.
Begum, who wed a Dutch ISIS fighter and lost her British citizenship in 2019, has faced legal battles to return to the UK, with her hopes dwindling as courts rejected her last appeal attempt in 2024. Despite the setbacks, her lawyers are pursuing a case in the European Court of Human Rights.
While the debate continues on whether Begum should be allowed back to the UK, political figures like David Lammy have firmly opposed her return, citing security concerns. The fate of Begum and others like her remains uncertain as legal and political battles play out on the international stage.