Wanting to escape a forced marriage, she ran away to marry ... a jihadist. Such is the journey, as intriguing as it is anachronistic, of Taissir E., a 20-year-old student living in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine). On July 13, this young French woman who had just obtained her baccalaureate was indicted for "criminal terrorist association" and placed in pre-trial detention. According to sources close to the investigation, she had tried three days earlier to reach Syria but was intercepted in Turkey.
Such an attempt to start jihad has become extremely rare since the loss of the territories formerly controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group and the end of this "caliphate" fantasized by supporters of an ultra-cold Islam. These are not the last Daesh troops that Taissir E. sought to join, but a rival group close to Al-Qaeda: the militia of Omar Diaby, a Franco-Senegalese recruiter from Nice (Alpes-Maritimes ) infamous. This 44-year-old jihadist is on the blacklist of international terrorists published by the United States. He still enjoys a mysterious aura of disaffection with ISIS ...
According to our information, Taissir E., described as a young woman not wearing a veil and showing no visible signs of radicalization, boarded a flight to Istanbul on July 9. She paid for her plane ticket by stealing 2,000 euros from relatives. Her parents, fallen from the clouds, discovered the disappearance of their daughter the same day. Especially since she was still looking for a company within the framework of a work-study program which was to begin in September. Before even being able to approach the Syrian border, Taissir E. was arrested on his arrival by the Turkish authorities on a report from the police officers of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI). Which had detected his initial inclinations on social networks.
Expelled to France and placed in police custody, Taissir E. explained that he had carried out various searches on the Internet on the katibat (the brigade) of Omar Diaby, the famous Firqat Ul-Ghuraba, with around sixty combatants almost all French. . By surfing the jihadosphere, via the Snapchat application and then the Telegram encrypted messaging, she manages to get in touch with one of the jihadists. A French native of the Paris region, targeted by an arrest warrant issued by the anti-terrorism justice, which she falls under the spell.
The latter then offers to join him in Syria to get married. So he would have put her in direct contact with her boss Omar Diaby. In front of the investigators, Taissir E. revealed to have discussed several times with the globally tracked recruiter, in particular to prove his motivation to join his group.
Her family allegedly sent her to live in Tunisia against her will
Asked about the underlying reasons for her departure, the young jihadist candidate explained that she wanted to flee an arranged marriage plan in Tunisia that her family would have developed. She also said that she suffered from "family pressures", notably linked to an episode dating back to 2015. In conflict with her parents, the latter sent her to live in Tunisia against her will, which they considered to be a method of fair education.
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The investigation will now focus on verifying whether this unstable family environment is the only reason for his radicalization or whether there are no other causes. When contacted, Taissir E.'s lawyer, Me Fares Aidel, declined to comment on the issue of forced marriage. “The explanations of my client are reserved for the judicial authority, indicates Me Aidel. But this is by no means a departure for the purpose of fighting in the jihadist ranks. "
Omar Diaby's group was not Taissir E's only Syrian contact. The student had an aunt who left to join Daesh a few years earlier and who lives in the few pockets still under the yoke of the terrorist group. Before leaving for Turkey, she would have discussed with this relative who would have dissuaded her from leaving ... The DGSI investigation reveals that Taissir E. was also in contact with several other young women also aspiring to join the brigade of Nice recruiter.
With the case of Taissir E., the intelligence services have recorded only two attempts to leave Syria since the start of the year. In 2019, only a French woman had managed to actually join a jihadist group and it was already that of Omar Diaby, as revealed by "the Express". Ambrine B., a 23-year-old young woman living in Toulon (Var), had taken a flight to Barcelona from Marseille in order to cover his tracks, before reaching Turkey and then Syria.
Omar Diaby, a recruiter with "unprecedented longevity"
The French-speaking katiba Firqat Ul-Ghuraba is installed in the North-West of Syria, near the border with Turkey. "A complicated area at the crossroads of various jihadist groups and geopolitical issues, which explains why Omar Diaby is still alive", summarizes a security source. The concentration of the international coalition's assaults on Daesh and the lack of response from the Turks have allowed it to retain its harmful power intact.
Very active on the Internet and renowned for his polished propaganda videos, Omar Diaby, also called Omar Omsen, had joined Syria in 2013 after a course rooted in delinquency in Nice. He would be responsible for the enlistment of several dozen young people from the Côte d'Azur but also from the whole of France. "Its longevity is unprecedented, both as a vector of jihadist propaganda and as a recruiter for the benefit of terrorist organizations," explains Jean-Charles Brisard, president of the Center for Terrorism Analysis (CAT). He has maintained an online presence, taking advantage of the weakening of the Islamic State to return to the media space, and retains a force of attraction, including since the drying up of departures to the area observed from the end. 2016. In the area, he managed to consolidate his presence with relative impunity. "
