After news hit the headlines last week about two young Australian women who deceived their parents to travel to the Middle East war zone to become jihadi brides for Islamic State (IS), a converted Brit has been exposed trying to convince young women to follow her own example. Sally Jones, whose new name is 'Sakinah Hussain', fled the United Kingdom (UK) to become an IS bride with her ten-year-old in tow—the UK media have not revealed exactly when Ms Hussain left her native England.
Saturday's revelation is the product of a three-month investigation by the Times news publication. When her luring activities were caught out by an undercover reporter pretending to be 17-year-old 'Aisha' on the Twitter social media platform, Ms Hussain was promoting Abu Abbas al-Lubnani. The IS member will allegedly send prospective brides Western Union transfers to pay for travel costs so that their future IS husbands can provide "an awesome life".
After the fictional Aisha said that she was worried about sharing details with the man, Ms Hussain assured her that Mr al-Lubnani is genuine, and needs to check passport photos to protect IS against the authorities, while a collector name for Western Union means that the money for travel can be picked up by the female. During the course of the Times investigation, Mr al-Lubnani conversed with and considered two girls, before giving them money so they could travel to Turkey.
Originally from Chatham, Kent, Ms Hussain, now 45 years old, was unemployed for most of her British life—surviving on government benefits—and eventually left for the Middle East after accepting a flight-ticket-inclusive offer to join IS. The Daily Mail also showed images of her former life on Saturday: one picture is of a live show of Ms Hussain's former all-girl punk band, in which she played lead guitar, while another depicts her son just after he was born on December 19, 2004—one day away from being exactly a decade ago.
An image of Ms Hussain's new husband concludes the Daily Mail article. The caption reveals that she has married a fellow Brit less than half her age, who left Birmingham specifically to join the IS mission. While a crime is not stated, the caption states that Junaid Hussain "skipped bail" to leave the UK. Both Mr Hussain and his older wife have been using social media to share their IS passions, including "beheading Christians" and conquering the world.