Sharmeena Begum arrested in Syria after terror plot link

Sharmeena Begum, a 27-year-old British woman who travelled from east London to join Isis, is understood to have been arrested in Syria. Her detention follows investigators linking her to a deadly attack at Berlin Pride earlier this year. German authorities reportedly uncovered messages exchanged between Begum and Abdul Ballout, who is alleged to have carried out the assault.

Ballout allegedly sent Begum a video pledging allegiance to Isis before driving a van into crowds at the Pride celebrations and attacking people with a machete. The attack resulted in one woman's death and dozens of injuries. Police shot Ballout dead following a manhunt.

Intelligence leads to arrest

German investigators reportedly passed Begum's phone number to a Western intelligence agency. This agency is understood to have tracked her to a hideout in Syria, leading to her arrest. Begum left the UK in December 2014, becoming one of the first British schoolgirls to travel to territory then controlled by Isis. She attended Bethnal Green Academy in Tower Hamlets and has been linked to the radicalisation of other pupils, including Shamima Begum, who travelled to Syria in February 2015.

While Shamima Begum has since distanced herself from the terror group, Sharmeena Begum was reportedly supportive of Isis ideology. Previous reports suggested she criticised her former schoolmate and maintained sympathy for the organisation years after its territorial defeat. Her father, Mohammed Nizam Uddin, told a newspaper he believed his daughter had been killed in Syria and had not been informed of her reported detention.

Following the collapse of Isis, thousands of women and children associated with the group were held in camps in northern Syria. Begum is reported to have escaped from one such facility. Investigators believe money she later raised online was intended to assist Isis-linked women and children.

She is expected to face terrorism-related proceedings in Syria. Reports indicate her British citizenship was revoked several years ago, meaning the UK Government has no obligation to assist her. Her reported arrest means all four Bethnal Green Academy schoolgirls who travelled to join Isis are now accounted for. Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase are believed to have died in Syria. Shamima Begum remains in a detention camp and is pursuing legal action to challenge the removal of her citizenship.