Shamima Begum: I didn't know ISIS was a death cult

15 September 2021, 08:19 | Updated: 17 September 2021, 18:03

ISIS bride Shamima Begum has said that when she left the UK to join the group aged 15 she hoped of living "a pure, Islamic life" and didn't know it was a death cult.

The east London schoolgirl fled the country in 2015 to join so-called Islamic State but is once again asking people for forgiveness.

She has claimed that she was "groomed and taken advantage of and manipulated into" travelling to Syria.

However, her pleas for support have not stopped her from making a dig at the UK Government in its approach to terrorism.

In a message to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Begum suggested she could help in "your fight against terrorism because you clearly don't know what you're doing".

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It came after the now 22-year-old attempted to explain her decision to join ISIS in a Good Morning Britain interview.

"The reason I came to Syria was not for violent reasons," Begum said.

"At the time I did not know it (so-called Islamic State) was a death cult, I thought it was an Islamic community I was joining.

"I was being fed a lot of information on the internet by people."

The Supreme Court ruled in February that Begum could not return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.

She was 15 when she and two friends left the country to join ISIS, later marrying a Dutch convert.

Previously, Begum has attempted to excuse her actions, saying she was a "dumb kid" and would "love" to rehabilitate others.