ISIS bride Shamima Begum 'gives birth to baby in Syria', family say

ISIS bride Shamima Begum has given birth to her baby in Syria, her family have been told.

A statement released by their lawyer said: "We, the family of Shamima Begum, have been informed that Shamima has given birth to her child, we understand that both she and the baby are in good health.

"As yet we have not had direct contact with Shamima, we are hoping to establish communications with her soon so that we can verify the above."

Ms Begum, 19, who ran away from Bethnal Green when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl, was tracked down by The Times at a refugee camp in Syria earlier this week and revealed that she hopes to return to the UK.

The teenager told the newspaper she would "do anything required just to be able to come home and live quietly with my child".

On Friday, she told The Times she feared her baby would be taken away from her if she returns to Britain and said that she would miss her jihadist husband who she still "loved very much."

Ms Begum, who has already lost two children to illness and malnutrition, said: “What do you think will happen to my child? Because I don’t want it to be taken away from me, or at least if it is, to be given to my family.”

She also said she feared she might never see her husband, the Dutch jihadist Yago Riedijk, again. The last time she saw him was two weeks ago when they fled from the village of Baghuz – the last Isis stronghold in Syria.

He surrendered to a group of fighters allied to the Syrian Democratic Forces who are in the final stages of defeating Isis there, while Ms Begum was taken to the al-Hawl refugee camp.

Ms Begum married him just months after arriving in Syria in 2015.

Ms Begum told The Times she understood she could face a police investigation on her return, admitting: "I knew that coming back to the UK wouldn't be a quiet thing. It's uncomfortable.

"If I ever do go back, it'll be a long time before the cameras stop and all the questions stop."

The former east London schoolgirl had previously admitted that she did not regret travelling to IS-controlled Syria, and asserted she was "not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago".

Her case has been the subject of an intense debate over what should happen to the teenager with questions immediately raised over whether Britain would be able to prevent her eventual return to the UK.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid warned that he "will not hesitate" to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join Islamic State, but Justice Secretary David Gauke told Sky News that "we can't make people stateless".

Former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Lord Carlile told the BBC that if Ms Begum has not gained a second citizenship of another country, she will have to be allowed back to her homeland because under international law it is not possible for a person to be made "stateless".

Chief executive of counter-extremism organisation Qulliam Haras Rafiq said he thought it likely the pregnant teenager's family will find the money to fund her journey back and that she would be allowed entry and then arrested.

He said it was possible that she could be de-radicalised but that, based on The Times interview, the process could be difficult.

In an earlier statement issued to ITV News, her family urged the Government to help her return to Britain to protect the welfare of her baby.

"Given Shamima's four-year ordeal, we are concerned that her mental health has been affected by everything that she has seen and endured," they said.

"Now, we are faced with the situation of knowing that Shamima's two young children have died - children that we will never come to know as a family.

"This is the hardest of news to bear. The welfare of Shamima's unborn baby is of paramount concern to our family, and we will do everything within our power to protect that baby who is entirely blameless in these events."