According to a warrant of arrest issued by the FBI, Essa, also known as Umm Qaqa, led that \u201cISIS Nusaybah Katibah\u201d group that violently enforced strict sharia law against women, conducted military training, and ordered assaults and murders across Syria and Iraq.<\/p>\n
The revelation of these extraordinary terror ties comes after The Australian exclusively revealed<\/a> Kamleh was alive, sitting in an Iraqi prison, and remained among 13 Australian ISIS fighters hoping to return home.<\/p>\n Despite being trained to use explosives, weapons, and conduct suicide bombing operations, it was Essa\u2019s role in the 2019 disappearance of two young American siblings, Yusuf and Zahra Shikder, that has drawn the $US5m ($7.1m) reward from the US government.<\/p>\n She remains on the run following a brazen refugee camp jailbreak with the two kidnapped children. Details of the escape are unclear, but Essa was likely smuggled out of the al-Hawl refugee camp by bribing guards.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was formally trained by ISIS-NK (Nusaybah Katibah) in the use of weapons, explosives, and suicide operations. Essa has regularly advocated the use of violence and encouraged other ISIS members to conduct attacks in multiple countries,\u201d the US Department of State\u2019s warrant states.<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, she has taught ISIS extremist ideology that justified suicide operations and killing of civilians and has recruited new members for ISIS.<\/p>\n \u201cIn her ISIS-NK role, Essa led a group that violently enforced sharia law against women. Essa issued orders which resulted in physical punishments such as assaults and even murder.<\/p>\n \u201cEssa is also known to have had in her custody several kidnapped or abducted children. In 2019, she held US siblings Yusuf and Zahra Shikder and took them to an undisclosed location in Syria after their mother died during a military strike against ISIS forces. The children\u2019s mother had kidnapped and transported them to Syria in 2015 to join ISIS without their \u00adfather\u2019s consent.\u201d<\/p>\n The American children were originally taken to Syria without the knowledge of their father, Bangladeshi-American Bashir Shikder, by their mother, Rashida. When Rashida was killed in a military strike in 2019, the orphaned siblings were seized by Essa.<\/p>\n Kamleh\u2019s fourth wife, Amina, was also found with a missing American child before she was repatriated to The Netherlands to face trial on terrorism offences.<\/p>\n Former US diplomat Peter Galbraith, who spent nearly a decade extracting foreign children abandoned in Syrian camps following ISIS\u2019s 2019 collapse, uncovered Kamleh\u2019s web while hunting for the missing Shikder siblings.<\/p>\n In 2021, Mr Galbraith helped rescue Kamleh\u2019s then eight-year-old American stepdaughter, who was being held by Amina in the Roj detention facility.<\/p>\n The girl was the daughter of Ariel Bradley, Kamleh\u2019s second wife. Mr Galbraith told The Australian he was stunned to learn Kamleh had managed to evade detection for so long given his high-profile role in the caliphate.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shocked to learn that he was still alive, and I would expect that he would be interrogated about the whereabouts of his sister-in-law,\u201d Mr Galbraith said. <\/p>\n \u201cAuthorities believe that she was smuggled out of the al-Hawl camp with Yusuf and Zahra. Her sister, Umm Yakeen (Amina\u2019s alias), was probably involved too.<\/p>\n \u201cShe (Amina) was repatriated to The Netherlands \u2026 I think she may be still in prison, I hope so,\u201d Mr Galbraith said. \u201cShe was a radical Somali woman and her sister was involved in the disappearance of two children who I was looking for without success.\u201d<\/p>\n The ABC reported that Australia\u2019s last remaining ISIS bride, Somali woman Hodan Abby, was linked to the Essa family while she was detained in the Roj camp.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have not commented on the situation, despite senior MPs saying the \u00adgovernment has limited powers<\/a> to prevent ISIS fighters from coming home if they are released. <\/p>\n Abby\u2019s Temporary Exclusion Order was revoked by Mr Burke, meaning she could return to the country whenever she pleases. It is likely she would face terrorism-\u00adrelated charges on her arrival.<\/p>\n Mohammad Alfares is a journalist based in the Melbourne bureau of The Australian, where he covers breaking news, politics, legal affairs, and religious issues. He began filming and editing homemade ‘productions’ as a child \u2014 an early sign of his future in journalism. He holds a Bachelor of Communication from Massey University in New Zealand and began his career in broadcast news before transitioning to print. Outside the newsroom, Mohammad is an avid fisherman and adrenaline-seeker. When he\u2019s not chasing a big catch, he enjoys unwinding with a good coffee, fresh air, and a ride on his motorbike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perth-born Islamic State fighter Tareq Kamleh, now in an Iraqi jail, married into one of the caliphate\u2019s most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65525,65502,65430,65497,65487,65483,65522,65482,40509,46167,65523,65461,65512,65458,42197,65505,65494,65486,65431,40421,38577,38951,65498,65450,58683,65499,65438,65514,36507,65432,65485,65443,65517,65521,65454,65456,65518,58635,53302,65489,65529,3340,26368,65526,26366,23,43100,65476,65439,65501,65468,65436,40471,65474,53334,7440,65445,65490,19076,65465,65437,65507,40802,65509,39861,65515,65472,49263,18894,52,65442,14789,65481,4034,65510,56873,4576,65434,65446,53304,46,65475,65433,26885,65440,65471,58694,65469,65463,38304,65435,335,65508,65500,8851,65488,59246,65503,65449,65467,65491,65516,6014,65444,53092,65457,65528,276,65448,65479,65466,65519,47378,65473,39660,65452,65480,65513,43941,65464,37024,52148,65477,65496,65453,65506,65478,23380,65520,65462,55570,65455,65451,65441,42761,65470,43761,65493,65460,65447,39522,44060,51153,37567,65527,8962,65495,65459,65504,65484,65524,65530,7944,18194,7211,65492,65511],"class_list":["post-59397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-female-terror-cells","tag-s-2019-collapse","tag-s-alias","tag-s-consent","tag-s-fourth-wife","tag-s-fourth-wife-amina","tag-s-last-remaining-isis-bride","tag-s-last-remaining-isis-bride-hodan-abby-according","tag-s-mother","tag-s-role","tag-s-second-wife","tag-s-temporary-exclusion-order","tag-s-then-eight-year-old-american-stepdaughter","tag-s-warrant","tag-s-web","tag-isis-nusaybah-katibah-group","tag-5m-us-bounty","tag-7-1m","tag-13-australian-isis-fighters","tag-40421","tag-38577","tag-38951","tag-a-us5m-fbi-bounty","tag-a-us5m-kidnapping-plot","tag-a-baghdad-prison","tag-a-brazen-child-kidnapping-plot","tag-a-brazen-refugee-camp-jailbreak","tag-a-fugitive-sister-in-law","tag-a-group","tag-a-massive-fbi-bounty","tag-a-military-strike","tag-a-missing-american-child","tag-a-murderous-sharia-law-battalion","tag-a-radical-somali-woman","tag-a-warrant","tag-abby","tag-amina","tag-an-iraqi-jail","tag-an-iraqi-prison","tag-an-undisclosed-location","tag-ariel-bradley","tag-arrest","tag-assaults","tag-assaults-and-murders","tag-attacks","tag-australia","tag-authorities","tag-bangladeshi-american-bashir-shikder","tag-civilians","tag-close-ties","tag-dangerous-isis-cell","tag-deadly-female-battalion","tag-details","tag-detection","tag-dr-jihad","tag-essa","tag-essa-kamleh","tag-even-murder","tag-explosives","tag-foreign-children","tag-guards","tag-her-custody","tag-her-head","tag-her-isis-nk-role","tag-her-sister","tag-his-high-profile-role","tag-his-sister-in-law","tag-his-trial","tag-hodan-abby","tag-home","tag-home-despite","tag-hunting","tag-iraqi-jailed-isis-fighter-tareq-kamleh","tag-isis","tag-isis-extremist-ideology","tag-isis-fighter-tareq-kamleh","tag-isis-fighters","tag-isis-forces","tag-isis-nk","tag-kamleh","tag-killing","tag-limited-powers","tag-military-training","tag-mr-burke","tag-mr-galbraith","tag-multiple-countries","tag-nearly-a-decade","tag-new-members","tag-nusaybah-katibah","tag-orders","tag-other-isis-members","tag-perth","tag-perth-born-islamic-state-fighter-tareq-kamleh","tag-physical-punishments","tag-prison","tag-rashida","tag-reward","tag-senior-mps","tag-several-kidnapped-or-abducted-children","tag-sharia-law","tag-somali-woman","tag-somali-dutch-militant-khadra-essa","tag-state","tag-strict-sharia-law","tag-success","tag-suicide-bombing-operations","tag-suicide-operations","tag-syria","tag-syria-and-iraq-the-revelation","tag-syrian-camps","tag-terror-ties","tag-terrorism-offences-former-us-diplomat-peter-galbraith","tag-the-children","tag-the-2019-disappearance","tag-the-abc","tag-the-al-hawl-camp","tag-the-al-hawl-refugee-camp","tag-the-american-children","tag-the-australian","tag-the-caliphate","tag-the-country","tag-the-daughter","tag-the-disappearance","tag-the-escape","tag-the-essa-family","tag-the-fbi","tag-the-former-adelaide-playboy","tag-the-government","tag-the-knowledge","tag-the-missing-shikder-siblings-in","tag-the-netherlands","tag-the-orphaned-siblings","tag-the-roj-camp-anthony-albanese-and-home-affairs-minister-tony-burke","tag-the-roj-detention-facility-the-girl","tag-the-run","tag-the-sister","tag-the-situation","tag-the-two-kidnapped-children","tag-the-us-department","tag-the-us-government-she","tag-the-use","tag-the-whereabouts","tag-their-father","tag-their-mother","tag-these-extraordinary-terror-ties","tag-trial","tag-two-abducted-children-dubbed","tag-two-children","tag-two-young-american-siblings","tag-umm-qaqa","tag-umm-yakeen","tag-us-siblings-yusuf-and-zahra-shikder","tag-violence","tag-weapons","tag-women","tag-yusuf-and-zahra","tag-yusuf-and-zahra-shikder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Mohammad](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/alfares_mohammad.png\")
<\/a>Mohammad Alfares<\/a>Journalist<\/p>\n