The two teens dubbed the “pinup poster girls for jihad” were allegedly brainwashed by IS by sports car-driving hate preacher Ebu Tejma and a short while later left the country to join the Islamic State (IS), never to be seen again.
Left Austria to join terrorist group in Syria
Sabina Selimovic was just 15 when she left Austria with her 16-year-old friend Samra Kesinovic to join the terrorist group in Syria in April 2014. Sabina s mother Senada Selimovic is suing the Austrian state for failing to stop her underage daughter from travelling to Turkey, where Sabina and Samra managed to reach IS-controlled territory in Syria. According to Senada s lawyer, the border guards at the airport should have checked whether the girls were “leaving the country against their guardians will”.
The Austrian state rejected the allegations and a government spokesperson said that it is not forbidden for minors to voluntarily leave the country. According to local media, there is currently no clear case law on the matter, which means that the Austrian Supreme Court will ultimately make a decision.
Dead or alive?
Senada still thinks that her daughter, who reportedly got married in Syria, is still alive. She added: “At first she wrote almost every day, and we also received telephone calls. She told me that she was fine and that I did not need to worry.” However, she has heard nothing from her daughter in recent years. Sabina s mother remains convinced that she will “see her again one day”. According to local media, there has been no trace of Sabina s best friend Samra since she arrived in Syria. She is rumoured to have died attempting to escape from IS-controlled territory.
Most of Ebu Tejma s jihadist recruitment network has since been dismantled by Austrian police. Prosecutors said that Tejma travelled Europe “like a pop star on tour”, being spotted driving top-of-the-range sports cars bought with the money he raised from believers. Tejma was convicted in July 2016 for the promotion of jihad and the recruitment of over 160 fighters for IS in Syria.
