A German father has told of his horror after finding out his pretty teen daughter has become the third wife of a German-born Jihadi in Syria at just 15.
Leonora Messing was still a schoolgirl when she fled her home in Sangerhausen , a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, to join the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria four years ago.
Father Maik, 47, pictured with his daughter wearing a smart western-style dress just one-month before she disappeared, has now written a book titled ‘Leonora’ describing how he lost his daughter to the terror group.
He said: “For us it is clear that she is not just a young girl who was seduced, but is equally an offender.
“But for me it is also clear, she does not belong there, That is not her country. That is not her war, that is not her home. That is here, we are her family.”
It is claimed Leonora was so devoted to the cause that she even spied on other German IS women as they were indoctrinated during ‘Islam lessons’ in the Syrian city of Raqqa. and that she reported back to their husbands on their behaviour.
Leonora is married to German Jihadi Martin Lemke known as Nihad Abu Yasir and is his third wife and mother of two of his children.
Leonora kept in contact with her family in Germany after fleeing and often spoke with her father.
She told him about the gold jewellery she received on her wedding day, about the war in Syria, the horrors of the IS as well as telling her father things from every day life such as recipes for baking bread in Syria.
She also told her father about a slave, which she claims her husband bought for 800 USD (647 GBP).
Following the defeat of IS, 19-year-old Leonora is now in a Kurdish prison camp in north-eastern Syria and hopes to return to Germany.
Police in Germany are now investigating to what extent Leonora was involved in IS crimes and this week her family home in Germany was searched by cops.
Speaking earlier this year about fleeing to Syria she said: “I was a bit naive, I had only been converted to Islam for two months.
“When I first arrived IS controlled the large cities and had a lot of money everything was good.
“I stayed at home and cooked and cleaned.
“But when IS lost Raqqa, we moved home every week, every week we lost a city.”
Leonora said she fled with husband Lemke, his second wife Sabina, 34, who is also from Germany and her children.
They were caught by Syrian Democratic Forces and taken to the Kurdish camp.
Both Leonora and Sabina claim their husband was only a technician for IS repairing computers and phones but it is alleged he worked for the feared religious police.
Leonora said she twice tried to flee but was caught each time by her husband.
She said: “I want to go back to Germany to my family, back to my old life. I know it was a big mistake.”
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Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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