Nine British medical students have secretly fled to Syria to help treat jihadists at hospitals controlled by Islamic State. Five men and four women in their late teens and early twenties fled from medical school in Sudan where their families had sent them to learn more about their culture.
The family of the absconded believe that they were “brainwashed” by ISIS sympathisers and have travelled to Syria, in attempt to persuade their children to return home with them.
It is said that one of the students, who is the daughter of a surgeon sent a smiling “selfie” to her sister before arriving at Syria.
The names of the runaway students are Lena Maumoon Abdulqadir, Nada Sami Kader, Rowan Kamal Zine El Abidine, Tasneem Suleyman Huseyin, Ismail Hamadoun, Tamer Ahmed Ebu Sebah, Mohamed Osama Badri Mohammed, Hisham Mohammed Fadlallah and Sami Ahmed Kadir. These students are of Sudanese backgrounds, born and brought up in the UK.
The father of Lena Mamoun Abdelgadir (19) reveals, “We sent our children to study [in Sudan] so that they would be surrounded by their culture. But their decision to go to Syria has been a shock for all of us.” He went on to say, “We have decided not to return home unless we go with them.”
