Women Join Islamic State

The fate of a pregnant London schoolgirl who wants to return to Britain after joining the Islamic State group in Syria divided the nation on Friday as reports emerged of more UK women fleeing the war zone.

The ISIS, known for its glib propaganda, has attracted thousands from across the world to join it, many of them lured by the promise of getting Syrian women as brides.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) fears a growing number of women have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside Islamic State militants, its chief said today.

The Islamic State group is recruiting a growing number of very young men and women from Europe despite battlefield setbacks, EU counter-terror chief Gilles de Kerchove has told AFP.

At least 12 Australian women from one city have attempted to join the Islamic State group, police said Friday, warning of a trend towards a "romanticised view" of violent jihadists.

A Belgian court on Monday handed out prison sentences to seven women for supporting Islamic State and radicalising young women to go to Syria to join its ranks and marry fighters of the militant organisation.

At least 15 young Western women who joined Islamic State and married jihadi fighters are now widows after the militant group suffered losses in clashes in Syria and Iraq, according to researchers who closely monitor Islamist radicals online.

Women travelling to join Islamic State militants are no longer just seeking to become "jihadi brides" but are taking on new roles, on the frontline in logistics and intelligence and as medics, according to military and expert sources.

Sixteen Indonesians, mostly women and children, have been arrested in Turkey attempting to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group, a minister said, the latest case of Indonesians heading to battlegrounds in the Middle East.

At least six young Canadian men and women from Montreal and its suburbs travelled overseas last month to join the Islamic State group, local media reported on Thursday.

Increasing numbers of young women are altering the profile of Australians joining the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria, Attorney-General George Brandis said today, enticed by the "false glamour" of the organisation.

A group of 30 British women who travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS)have been encouraging other women in the UK to carry out terror attacks back home, overturning the belief that female jihadists are quite and passive, researchers in London have found.

About 7,500 women are estimated to have joined the Women's Protection Unit, or YPJ, many as volunteers, which was set up in 2012 as part of the People's Defense Unit (YPG), the Kurds' dominant fighting unit in the northern Syria region of Rojava.

France's top security official says five people have been arrested suspected of belonging to a ring that recruits young women to join Islamic militants in Syria.

The fate of a pregnant London schoolgirl who wants to return to Britain after joining the Islamic State group in Syria divided the nation on Friday as reports emerged of more UK women fleeing the war zone.

The ISIS, known for its glib propaganda, has attracted thousands from across the world to join it, many of them lured by the promise of getting Syrian women as brides.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) fears a growing number of women have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside Islamic State militants, its chief said today.

The Islamic State group is recruiting a growing number of very young men and women from Europe despite battlefield setbacks, EU counter-terror chief Gilles de Kerchove has told AFP.

At least 12 Australian women from one city have attempted to join the Islamic State group, police said Friday, warning of a trend towards a "romanticised view" of violent jihadists.

A Belgian court on Monday handed out prison sentences to seven women for supporting Islamic State and radicalising young women to go to Syria to join its ranks and marry fighters of the militant organisation.

At least 15 young Western women who joined Islamic State and married jihadi fighters are now widows after the militant group suffered losses in clashes in Syria and Iraq, according to researchers who closely monitor Islamist radicals online.

Women travelling to join Islamic State militants are no longer just seeking to become "jihadi brides" but are taking on new roles, on the frontline in logistics and intelligence and as medics, according to military and expert sources.

Sixteen Indonesians, mostly women and children, have been arrested in Turkey attempting to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group, a minister said, the latest case of Indonesians heading to battlegrounds in the Middle East.

At least six young Canadian men and women from Montreal and its suburbs travelled overseas last month to join the Islamic State group, local media reported on Thursday.

Increasing numbers of young women are altering the profile of Australians joining the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria, Attorney-General George Brandis said today, enticed by the "false glamour" of the organisation.

A group of 30 British women who travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS)have been encouraging other women in the UK to carry out terror attacks back home, overturning the belief that female jihadists are quite and passive, researchers in London have found.

About 7,500 women are estimated to have joined the Women's Protection Unit, or YPJ, many as volunteers, which was set up in 2012 as part of the People's Defense Unit (YPG), the Kurds' dominant fighting unit in the northern Syria region of Rojava.

France's top security official says five people have been arrested suspected of belonging to a ring that recruits young women to join Islamic militants in Syria.