A farewell letter by an Australian ISIS bride has cast doubt on her claims that she was ‘trapped’ in Islamic State territory after attending a wedding and helping Syrian orphans.

Kawsar Abbas, also known as Ahmad, 53, was charged with slavery offences after landing in Melbourne on May 7 with her two adult daughters, Zeinab, 31, and Zahra, 33, and her eight grandchildren.

The three women were among four ISIS brides to return to Australia last week after spending seven years in Al Roj refugee camp in Syria.

Abbas left Australia for Turkey in March 2014 to join her husband Mohammed Ahmad, who ran a charity in Syria which was suspected by Australian Federal Police of funnelling money into IS – which the couple deny.

They previously claimed they only crossed the border into Syria for their son Omar’s wedding, and were blindsided when they realised he’d pledged allegiance to IS.

However, a Facebook post on Abbas’ profile on March 7, 2014 – days before she travelled to the conflict zone – suggests she planned to stay overseas for a long time, and makes no mention of a wedding.

In the post, which was a farewell to family and friends, she wrote: ‘Our unity has expanded into Syria and will only expand further by Allah’s will.’

At the end of the post, Abbas told her loved ones that she hopes they will be reunited in ‘Jannat al-Firdaws’ – which is the afterlife in the Islamic faith.

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Kawsar Abbas is pictured inside a prison van in Melbourne on May 11, after being charged with slavery offences

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Pictured: Zahra Ahmad leaving Melbourne Airport on May 7. She has not been charged with any criminal offences

The post also read: ‘May Allah bless you all, as I prepare to leave to see my loved ones once again alhamdulillah [praise to be God] I leave behind the loved ones that have been there for me in my darkest moments.

‘Really no words can describe how I feel but I ask Allah that you find this deed weighing heavily on your scale. I will use this only to multiply your thoughtful act in rewards inshallah [if God wills].

‘May Allah give me the ability to be there for all of you. May Allah ease your affairs and be with you all and bless you and your families. Mashallah [what God has willed] our unity has expanded into Syria and will only expand further by Allah’s will.’

She told friends and family that she loved them and asked everyone to pray for her.

‘I ask Allah to keep our hearts steadfast upon all that pleases him and to accept our deeds and to unite is in Jannat Al-Firdaws [the garden of paradise],’ she wrote.

Abbas also uploaded a photo of a card appearing to show she was gifted money for the trip.

Loved ones commented on the post, saying: ‘You’re awesome.’

Another said: ‘Beautifully spoken Kawsar, you’re an inspiration Mashallah Tabarakallah [what God has willed, blessed is Allah].’

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Kawsar Abbas wrote a post on Facebook days before she left Australia in 2014 (pictured)

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Pictured: A photo Kawsar Abbas uploaded on March 7, 2014, which appears to show she was gifted money before going to Syria

Melbourne to Syria

Posts from March and April show Abbas and her family were reunited in Turkey.

They spent time sightseeing in Istanbul, and appeared to visit some Syrian orphans at the end of March.

Ahmad – who is now in a Syrian prison – told the ABC in 2019 that his family only crossed the border into Syria for Omar’s marriage to a local teenage girl, which they claim would not have taken place if they were unable to meet their future in-laws.

He did not explain why Omar, who had just turned 18, was living in the Syrian city of Manbij at the time.

Ahmad claimed the family got stuck in Syria in September 2014, when IS attacked the last exit in Kobane, preventing them from leaving.

Omar and their other son Ahmad have since died in the ongoing conflict, along with five other members of their extended family.

Omar allegedly kept a Yazidi slave, who Ahmad told the publication was treated well.

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Mohammed Ahmad (pictured) went to the Turkey-Syrian border in 2012. He is now in a Syrian jail

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Pictured: Kawsar Abbas and Mohammed Ahmad’s son, Ahmad Ahmad. He died in the conflict

‘IS-linked’ charity

Ahmad travelled to Syria in 2012 where he claimed to have performed aid work with his charity, Global Humanitarian Aid Australia (GHAA), which was registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission.

It was set up to help Syrian orphans, but Australian Federal Police suspected the charity’s real purpose was to funnel money to Islamic State, which Ahmad denies.

The sister of Australian suicide bomber Adam Dahman helped with fundraising for the same charity, and Australian jihadist supporter Kassab followed it on social media.

GHAA also worked closely with IHH – a charity which has been accused in Germany and Israel of having links to Hamas. A number of posts on GHAA’s Facebook page are reposts from IHH.

Ahmad announced its closure in January 2015 ‘due to circumstances beyond our control’, but it’s believed their accounts were closed by the Australian government.

Its registration was revoked by the ACNC in 2017 because financial statements were never submitted.

Ahmad has consistently denied that GHAA was funnelling money to IS, or had links to terrorist organisations.

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Kawsar Abbas’ daughter Zeinab Ahmad is pictured

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Kawsar Abbas’ daughter Zahra Ahmad is pictured

Alleged slave traders

Since being detained at Al Roj refugee camp after the fall of IS in 2019, Abbas and her daughters Zeinab and Zahra have repeatedly pleaded for Australian government help to return home.

Abbas, her daughters, another ISIS bride Janai Safar, 32, and their combined nine children left the refugee camp in northern Syria in late April, but were held up in Damascus for two weeks by Syrian authorities.

Safar landed in Sydney on May 7 and was charged with entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and with joining the terrorist organisation.

Abbas and Zeinab were charged with enslavement and using a slave after landing in Melbourne. Abbas was also charged with possessing a slave and engaging in slave trading.

Zahra is not accused of committing any crimes.

Court documents allege Abbas enslaved, possessed and used a slave in Mayadin, Hajin, Gharanji, Bahra, Abu Hamam, Walaa and other places in the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria between June 2017 and November 2018.

The documents also allege she was complicit in buying a female slave for more than AU$14,000, and knowingly kept the woman in her home.

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Pictured: A court sketch of Kawsar Abbas in Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on May 8

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Zeinab Ahmad, 31, (pictured in a prison truck) will apply for bail in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in July

Abbas and Ahmad allegedly ‘committed intentionally or knowingly as part of a widespread or systemic attack directed against a civilian population’, according to the documents.

They faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court separately earlier in May after they were taken into custody at the airport.

The court heard the alleged victim, a Yazidi woman, was taken from her home when she was a pre-teen girl in 2014 and sold as a slave to families of ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Abbas and Ahmad were remanded in custody until June when they will apply for bail.

The Daily Mail has contacted Abbas for comment.

SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15826619/isis-bride-post-syria-wedding-claim.html