The two Austrian teens who left their families to join ISIS have had a change of heart, it seems. Samra Kesinovic, 17, and friend Sabina Selimovic, 15, have become "poster girls" for the ISIS terrorist movement after joining the organization earlier this year, but recent reports state that the two are now married, pregnant, and realize that they've made a huge mistake.
Back in April, the two teens left their Vienna, Austria homes to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as their political views grew more and more radical. The girls are both from Bosnian immigrant families and were already practicing the Islamic faith, but were reportedly lured into ISIS by propaganda preached at their local Mosque. The families' trusted clerics described the only way to true peace was to head to Syria and join the holy war, according to Austrian security officials.
"Don't look for us," the girls wrote in a note to their parents in April. "We will serve Allah, and we will die for him."
Social media accounts for the two have been steadily showing what some thought to be the girls adorning traditional Muslim clothing and holding weapons. But authorities say that these accounts may have been compromised by ISIS to paint the girls' new life as something they enjoyed. Several of the images were proven to be faked, including some that were actually taken years earlier of different women.
Perhaps the saddest part of this story is the fact that it may be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the two teens to return to Austria at this point, thanks to strict laws that prevent someone from returning after joining a foreign war.
"The main problem is about people coming back to Austria," said Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck. "Once they leave, it is almost impossible."
Although these two girls have become the faces of Western interest in the radical jihadist movement, they're far from the first or only to leave their countires and join ISIS. It's estimated that there are 130 Austrian nationals alone who have uprooted and joined ISIS, and the trend isn't slowing down.
When 15-year-old french teen "Nora" was lured to ISIS through propaganda on Facebook and later changed her mind, her brother, Foad, traveled to Syria to get her back. Unfortunately, Foad was not allowed to leave the country with her. "As soon as they manage to snare a girl, they do everything they can to keep her," Foad said to the NY Post. "Girls aren't there for combat, just for marriage and children. A reproduction machine."
