Police hunt for family feared to be travelling to Syria

The family from northern England reportedly travelled to Turkey to join the militant group.

Imran Ameen, 39, and his wife Farzana, 40, and their children aged five to 15 are feared to have travelled to Turkey in a bid to reach Islamic State (ISIS)-controlled territory in Syria.

They said they were working with the Turkish authorities and were primarily concerned with the safety and welfare of the young children and the safe return of the family.

POLICE are appealing for information to help trace a family of seven from Bradford who have been reported missing and are believed to be in Turkey.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Foster added: “We would urge anyone with information about the family’s whereabouts to come forward and speak to police so the family can safely return to the UK”.

“If there is anyone in the community who has any information as to the whereabouts of this family it is important they are actually working with the police to make sure the children are safe”.

Rehan was last seen on June 29 but police said Rehan was also “not on the radar at all” and is thought to have made the trip without children or a female partner.

Asked about Farzana Ameen’s missing brother, he said: “Clearly that’s a concern for us and another line of inquiry”.

The 40-year-old couple’s relative has said that Farzana had contacted her brother in Pakistan yesterday and had also recently travelled to the country with her mother, who has health issues, to leave her in the care of relatives there.

“I know the police are doing everything they can to try and return the young family safely and I would urge anyone who has any information about them to call West Yorkshire Police on 101”. She sent him messages, and apparently the last message was: “whatever she’s doing she’s doing the best for the kids”, Arshid Siddique said.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, from the Bradford Council for Mosques, told BBC Radio Leeds on Tuesday that his organisation had emphasised to its members that travelling to Syria is not safe..

She had told friends she would get her mother settled there and then returned before leaving the country again with her family.

Mr Siddique said the rest of the family said their goodbyes to the couple and their children Isma, 15, Moeen, 14, Muneeb, 11, Ismail, eight, and Imran, five.

“I can’t believe anyone in their right mind would take their kids to a warzone. In the meantime there’s been family thinking ‘What’s going on here?’ We have not heard anything from them”.

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

He continued: “I think it was maybe a week and then the cops turned up”.

He said: “It’s a awful shock, Imran himself has a little online business selling vehicle parts, a quiet guy”.

He said: “We need to know more more information regarding this family – about their whereabouts and what their motivation may be”.

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

A prominent West Yorkshire imam said that not enough was being done to combat the sophisticated propaganda war being waged by Isis.