Operation Jihadi Bride

Soldier Magazine's Book of the Month Fascinating... Incredibly dangerous. The Times h2Gripping. Adrenalin fuelled true-life account with all the makings of a military thriller. The action unfolds like a Le Carre novel. Soldier Magazine“/i>/h2> 'If there are young women with children trapped in that hell and we can get them out, don't we have a duty to do so?' Hearing terrifying stories first-hand from naive young girls who'd been tricked, abused and enslaved by ISIS, ex-British Army soldier John Carney set up a high-risk operation to rescue as many as he could. This is the breath-taking true story of how he repeatedly led his men behind enemy lines into the Syrian lead storm to liberate women and children, delivering them to de-radicalization programmes and fair trials. Believing that 'every person we can bring back is living proof that ISIS is a failure', Carney tackles the complex issue of Jihadi Brides head on, as he and his men endanger their lives, not always returning safely home.

Previously published as ‘In the Skin of a Jihadist’ Twenty year-old “Mélodie”, a recent convert to Islam, meets the leader of an ISIS brigade on Facebook. In 48 hours he has ‘fallen in love’ with her, calls her every hour, urges her to marry him, join him in Syria in a life of paradise – and join his jihad.

In June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and called for Muslims around the world to migrate there. Over the next five years, around 150 women left the UK to heed this invitation, and the so- called "jihadi brides" were rarely out of the news. This book traces the media fascination with those who joined the "caliphate," including Sally Jones, Aqsa Mahmood and Shamima Begum. Through an analysis of the media that presented the 'brides' for public consumption, Leonie B. Jackson reveals the gendered dualistic construction of IS women as either monstrous or vulnerable. Just as the monstrous woman was sensationalized as irredeemably evil, the vulnerable girl was represented as groomed and naïve. Both subjects were constructed in such a way that women's involvement in jihadism was detached from men's, scrutinized more closely, and explained through gender stereotypes that both erased the agency of female extremists and neglected their stated motivations. As Jackson demonstrates, these media representations also contributed to the development of new norms for dealing with the "brides," including targeted killing and the revocation of citizenship. While the vulnerable girl was potentially redeemable, the monstrous woman was increasingly considered expendable.

Gun-for-hire James 'Ash' Ashcroft thought he'd left Iraq behind. Last time he only got out alive thanks to the bravery of his interpreter and friend Sammy. But now a call for help means Ash must once again face the chaos of war-torn Baghdad - and this time there's no pay cheque. Abandoned by the occupying Coalition Forces, Sammy and his family face certain death at the hands of the Shia-dominated Iraqi Police and the death squads that roam the streets unless Ash and his team can get in and get them to safety over the border. This is the action-packed story of their audacious escape from Baghdad. It is a gripping account of the chaos of war, where the only thing that can be relied upon is the bond between former brothers-in-arms.

Jacky was twenty-three when she arrived in Egypt for a holiday with her boyfriend, Dave. Little did she know that an innocent holiday would result in a horror beyond her imagination. Separated from Dave in a bustling street, Jacky fell and twisted her ankle, only to be swept up by a handsome, chivalrous Egyptian called Omar. It was love at first sight. Jacky spent those ten days living with the family - sharing a bed with Omar's sister - irresistibly attracted to Omar. Swept away by her infatuation she married him and converted to Islam before returning to England to her parents. Returning to Cairo against her parents' advice but full of hopes and plans, Jacky's dream turned into a nightmare. As a blue-eyed blonde she was never going to fit in with life in a poor suburb where the women walked at all times with their heads bowed. During the next eight years she suffered non-stop physical and emotional abuse. She had to escape with her two little girls but how? This tense story never quite ends. Even now, Jacky is living in the shadow of a death threat. A fatwa is issued legitimately under Islamic law to a Muslim woman who leaves her husband. Jacky to protect herself and her daughters minute by minute, day by day, never quite sure what may be around the corner...

Beneath the clear blue skies of Maldives, a beast slouches towards Syria to be born... Zahi has led a perfectly normal life until one day she heads out for a family vacation but finds herself in the conflict stricken sands of Syria. Unknowingly signed up for Jihad along with her family, Zahi is now the newest recruit of the Islamic State. In a hostile environment with no support and where a single misplaced word could mean death, she is able to make contact with her brother back home. Thus is set in motion a web of deception, courage and tragedy as she attempts to escape. Based on the little known and insidious operations of the Islamic State this book is a startling account of how the Islamic State has perfected a cross-country operation that converts thousands to a depraved cause. Taken from real life events, this gritty account describes in horrifying detail not only the very real and very elaborate functioning of the Islamic State but the motivations that operate behind it. An authentically written portrait of life in the Islam State, this book will force you to tread carefully as it shatters your illusions. Combining research and accurate information with the heady pace of a political intrigue, this is a ticket that you cannot miss out on. In a world that is rocked by the violence of a rising Islamic fundamentalism, A Ticket to Syria is that disturbing thriller which is actually true.

Our world as it once was In August 2014, Farida was, like any ordinary teenager, enjoying the last days of summer before her final year at school. However, her peaceful mountain village in northern Iraq was an ISIS target as their genocide against the Yazidi people began. The catastrophe ISIS murdered the men and boys in the village, including Farida's father and brother, and took the women hostage. Farida was one of them. She was held in a slave camp, in the homes of ISIS members and finally in a desert training camp. Continually she struggled, resisted and fought against her captors, showing unimaginable strength and bravery. This is my story Eventually, Farida managed to plot her escape and fled into the desert with five young girls in her care, but defeating ISIS was just the first step in her journey. In this book she tells her remarkable and inspiring story.