Australian Couple Killed in Syria, Free Syrian Army Accused
The first recorded case Australian mortality in Syria is here. Sydney woman Amira Ali travelled to Syria to meet her husband and allegedly fell prey to the brutal internal strife between rebel forces in the country.
Ms Ali, 22, lived in Granville, Sydney, before moving to Syria in December to meet her husband, Yusuf Ali. Mr Ali stayed in Aleppo where there were hundreds killed last week as a result of the fight between jihadists and anti-Assad fighters. Ms Ali, despite her initial schooling in one of the Anglican girls' schools in Australia, became a highly practising Muslim with time. She used to wear the niqab which covered her body and face.
Ms Ali got married to Mr Ali in April 2013 after moving to Sydney in the middle of 2012. Mr Ali is believed to have North American origins but later he converted to Islam. He left for Syria soon after his marriage with Amira. He informed his fellow worshippers at the Lidcombe mosque in western Sydney that he was going to Syria to do humanitarian work. On the contrary, the imam of the mosque opposed his decision. He was even suspected of plotting to fight for a jihadist group.
Australian couple Yusef Ali (pic) and his wife Amira were killed in Syria. pic.twitter.com/8BIygk9sO3
— Sounak Mukhopadhyay (@snksounak) January 12, 2014
Karl Karroum, Ms Ali's stepbrother, said that the family was notified of the death of the Ali couple on Saturday, Jan 11; The Australian reports. The death is believed to have occurred on Thursday, Jan 9. Mr Karroum said that the reasons behind the couple moving to Syria were yet to be clarified. He, on the other hand, clarified that the two were "very peaceful" and "observant Muslims."
Mr Karroum claimed that they had spoken to Foreign Affairs but could not manage to find out much about the death. He held the present political situation in Syria to be responsible for the authorities not being able to provide much information regarding the incident.
However, one of Ms Ali's close associates claimed on Facebook that Mr & Ms Ali were "martyrs" who had been killed at home by the Free Syrian Army.