British IS bride’s baby dies in Syria

Damascus, March 9

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The newborn son of Shamima Begum, a British teenager of Bangladeshi descent who ran away in 2015 to become an Islamic State (IS) jihadi bride, has died due to poor health in Syria, the Kurdish Red Crescent told CNN.

Begum, 19, gave birth to her baby, Jarrah, in a Syrian refugee camp in February.

After the baby’s health deteriorated on Thursday, medical staff from the Kurdish Red Crescent transferred the mother and the infant from the al-Hawl camp to the main hospital in al-Hasakah city. The baby died a few hours after arriving at the hospital, the NGO said on Friday.

Begum's son is one of scores of children who have died fleeing from fighting in the IS’ last remaining Syrian enclave Baghouz.

Nearly 100 children have died en route or shortly after arriving at the al-Hawl refugee camp due to a lack of food, water and health care, according to the International Rescue Committee, adding that the situation there has reached a “breaking point”.

Begum left London to join the IS in Syria when she was 15. She made international headlines last month as she publicly pleaded with the UK government to be allowed to return. — IANS