HOMEWARD BOUND
ISIS bride Shamima Begum ‘heading for Brit embassy in Iraq to use her baby as ticket home’, expert claims
She fled refugee camp in Syria last week after death threats
ISIS bride Shamima Begum could be heading for a British diplomatic outpost in Iraq where she will try to use her baby as her ticket home, a security expert claims.
Begum, 19, last week fled the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria after getting death threats from other jihadi families for speaking out about life under the terror regime.
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It was reported she and her newborn son Jerah were bundled to safety and taken to the Roj camp further north and east, close to the borders with Iraq and Syria.
But she has said she is desperate to be back in London - despite being stripped of her British citizenship - insisting she deserves "sympathy".
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has admitted her son's citizenship rights would not be affected, and experts said she might use him to stage a homecoming.
One expert said Begum might try to cross the border into Iraq and seek help at the British embassy in Baghdad.
There is also a UK consulate in Erbil in the Kurdish-run north - just 140 miles from Roj.
ROUTE BACK TO UK
David Otto, counter-terrorism and organised crime expert at Global Risk International, believes an escape to the south is her favoured option.
He : “From a logistical and tactical move, she would travel towards Iraq where the UK has a consulate service and seek assistance.
“Even if there is no immediate help for her due to the ongoing controversy surrounding the revoke of her nationality by the British Home Office, the UK government has publicly expressed a willingness to recognise and care for her newborn.
“It is likely she will be heading to Iraq where she can seek the commencement of repatriation service.”
There has no British diplomatic presence in war-torn Syria since 2012.
Another possible route home could be north through Turkey - the common entry point for most British ISIS members including Begum and her two school pals who flew there from Gatwick in 2015.
Crossing the border was once relatively easy - but now people smugglers are said to be charging £40,000 per family.
Former Turkish counter-terror police chief Ahmet Yayla said: "Under normal circumstances, (ISIS jihadis) would easily travel back to Turkey by bribing Syrian Democratic Forces members and working with the smugglers.
“But through recent circumstances, smuggling fees – particularly for the Western members – have increased dramatically.
“Now they are charging up to $50,000 - in the past it was around $200."
BOUNTY ON HER HEAD
The Sun revealed last week how Begum had a price on her head after TV and newspaper interviews from al-Hol.
She had boasted about being given a plush tent in the makeshift refugee hub because she’s “famous”.
Other ISIS wives said she disgraced their cause by bleating about her plight and vowed to burn down her tent.
She reportedly fled to Roj, where she will rub shoulders with another British ISIS bride, Reema Iqbal.
The mum of two from East London moaned last year how she missed fish and chips and the NHS.
Yesterday Shamima's dad Ahmed Ali, 60, claimed it was Britain's fault she left to join ISIS when she was 15.
He said authorities should have stopped her and other youngsters who were groomed by fanatics online.
Shamima's brazen lack of remorse sparked fury as she said the Manchester Arena suicide bombing was justified and claimed she deserves more sympathy.
She gave birth to her third child in the al-Hoj camp – after her first two died of disease and malnutrition – and hopes the child will be her passport back to the UK.
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Her ISIS fighter husband Yago Riedijk – currently held in a Kurdish-run jail – says he wants to take her and the newborn to the Netherlands.
Even if Begum does make it back to the UK, the government is drawing up a Treason Act to jail traitors who have betrayed Britain.
The Home Secretary has tasked officials to work on the major new criminal offence to close down current legal loopholes.
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Shamima Begum's husband Yaho Riedijk says 'we've made a mistake' and hopes to be given a second chance after 'miserable live' in ISIS
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