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VIDEO: I sent daughters on suicide mission, says Syrian militant

It was reported that the Syrian militant belonged to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, but doubts were raised due to the flag he used
Abu Nimr and his daughters (screengrab)

Videos have emerged purportedly showing a Syrian militant sending his two young daughters on a suicide mission in Damascus, in an attack that injured three police officers.

“Why are you sending your daughters?” the Syrian militant known as Abu Nimr asks his wife, who is coddling their two daughters.

“One is nine and the other is seven,” he presses her. “They’re young for jihad.”

“No one is too young for jihad, because now jihad is a duty for every Muslim,” the mother replies nonchalantly. “The old and the young, women and men.”

“You are right, God bless you,” the father replies, evidently pleased with the answer. “May God accept your daughters. May God be pleased with you.”

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“God is great!” the family exclaim together.

Abu Nimr later asks his daughter: “Fatemah, what are you going to do today?”

“A suicide bombing,” the nine-year-old replies.

“Where?” he asks his child.

“Damascus,” she replies curtly.

“Damascus?” he asks his daughter, “You’re only nine years old! Leave it to men.”

“Our men ran away on the green buses,” Abu Nimr adds, referring to the evacuation of civilians and rebels from besieged eastern Aleppo in a deal with the Assad government.

“Will you surrender so that the infidels can rape and kill you?” he asks.

“No,” she says, to which her father replies: “You will kill them, right?”

In a separate video, Abu Nimr is unequivocal and to the point: “My name is Abdul Rahman al-Shadad, father of Fatemah, the martyr who sacrificed for God.”

It was widely reported that Abu Nimr was a member of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), but Syria expert Hassan Hassan quickly raised doubts.

He linked to a number of Twitter threads by accounts close to Syrian rebel groups who dissected the videos, but added that he was not completely sure if those accounts could be proved to be entirely accurate.

The doubts centre around the flag draped behind Abu Nimr, which is certainly not a JFS flag.

Rather, the flag bears a closer resemblance to al-Qaeda fi Balad al-Sham (al-Qaeda in Levantine Countries).

A second Twitter account confirmed these details regarding Abu Nimr being linked to al-Qaeda in Levantine countries as opposed to JFS.

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