Cousins killed in Syria shared British IS bride
TWO cousins radicalised by Anjem Choudary fled to Syria and were killed within months of each other, leaving behind a British woman they both married.
Haroon Khurshid, 21, and Bilal Safdar, 24, both from East London, attended talks by Choudary and his group in the capital and in Luton.
Khurshid then abandoned his studies at Queen Mary University of London and went to Syria to join IS three years ago. Within months, his maternal cousin Safdar, an IT engineer, joined him.
Safdar’s wife Musfira, now 24, and their six-month-old daughter Wardah followed him shortly after.
But last November, Safdar was killed by a barrel bomb, having become a father to another daughter, then aged two months.
His wife observed a three-month waiting period called Iddat, required by Islamic law, before marrying Khurshid. But he was killed by a sniper a month ago.
This weekend, Khurshid’s father, Ashfaq, 46, an acupuncturist, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I believe Anjem Choudary recruited my son Haroon and is responsible for his death. However, it is against my religious belief to condemn a man. My son attended his talks and his behaviour changed. Haroon travelled to Syria three years ago without my knowledge. He has recently been killed and the family are in mourning.’
Safdar’s maternal uncle, Khalid Hussain, 49, said he believed that his nephews attended Choudary’s talks and were ‘brainwashed’. Haroon Khurshid