The Ameen family consists of eight people from a British Pakistani family who moved from the United Kingdom to Turkey in 2015. They are believed to have traveled to Syria, a region affected by war. At that time, Turkey was a common place for people to pass through when traveling to Syria, where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had established a caliphate in June 2014. The Ameens were the second family to go missing from the city of Bradford in 2015, and it was thought they had traveled to Syria and joined ISIL.

The family members included Rehan Noor-Ul-Ameen, 30; his brother Imran Ameen, 39; Imran’s wife and first cousin, Farzana Ameen, 40; their daughter, Isma Ameen, 15; and their sons, Moeen Imran, 14; Mohammed Muneed Imran, 11; Ismail Imran, 8; and Mohammed Imran, 5. Rehan disappeared first in June 2015. He traveled to Turkey and is thought to have entered Syria after that. In October 2015, Imran, his wife, and their five children left their home in Bradford, England, and also traveled to Turkey, as Rehan had. None of them returned home after that.

Life in Britain

Before they disappeared, Imran and Farzana Ameen and their children had never been noticed by the police and were not on any lists that track people. The family lived in a three-bedroom house that shares a wall with another house in the West Bowling area of Bradford in 2015. Many of the family’s extended relatives lived nearby. Imran’s father was a lawyer who lived next door to the couple. A first cousin lived across the street. The cousin said the family prayed five times a day but did not focus on religion in other ways. He said Farzana had more friends who were not Asian than Asian friends and did not wear a face veil.

In January 2007, Imran’s younger brother, Rehan, then 21 years old, was attacked, kidnapped, and threatened with being forced to pay £20,000. He was lured to meet three men who hit him with bats and threatened to kill him unless he paid them. He escaped. Three days later, he met one of the attackers again, and they fought. The man threatened Rehan with a gun. Later, the three attackers admitted they had done the crimes.

A neighbor said Rehan became more religious after the attack, and eventually, Imran also became more religious. Imran grew a beard and changed how he dressed. Imran was connected to several websites. One website listed in Imran’s account that earned money from ads was Islamicmovements.com. This website had articles about conflicts involving Islamist groups and pages about Osama bin Laden, Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Islamicmovements.com was registered under another name but used Imran’s email address and his business’s post office box.

Imran and Farzana’s three youngest children went to St. Matthew’s CE Primary School. The school’s head teacher later said there was “no reason whatsoever to believe the children would be at risk.” Their older children, Isma and Moeen, were homeschooled. Farzana also helped care for her mother, who had had a stroke and could not move, so she stayed in bed. Imran sold car parts online.

A neighbor said shortly before the family disappeared, Imran visited a local religious school more often, and Farzana sold her Jeep and bought a smaller car. A week before she disappeared, Farzana traveled to Pakistan with her disabled mother and left her with relatives there. When the Ameens told their cousin they were moving because Imran had received a job offer from the United Arab Emirates, the cousin was unsure about the story, because he did not think Imran had the level of education needed for a job in the UAE. The cousin said he felt “something was not right” but did not think they planned to go to Syria.

Departures from Britain and disappearance

On June 29, 2015, Rehan Ameen left Manchester Airport and traveled to Dalaman, Turkey. From there, he may have gone to Syria. He did not return, and the police were not told he was missing.

On September 29, Farzana and Imran took their younger children out of school, saying they were moving from the area. They gave different reasons for leaving, such as going on a vacation in the Middle East or moving to Dubai because Imran got a job offer in the United Arab Emirates. Their cousin said the Ameens said goodbye to family without giving a specific departure date and then disappeared suddenly. They did not contact their relatives afterward to confirm they had arrived safely.

On October 6, the Ameen family went to Manchester Airport and flew to Antalya, Turkey, using one-way tickets. On October 13, Farzana called her brother in Pakistan and left messages, saying her actions were what she believed was best for her children. That same day, the family was reported missing.

Their cousin was very surprised to learn they may have gone to Syria. The family’s great-uncle said everyone was upset about Farzana and Imran’s decision. A cousin of Imran and Farzana said he worried about the children’s safety, stating, “It is hard to believe any parent would take their children to a war zone for any reason.”

In January 2016, the police started a new search for information about the Ameen family and the Dawood family, who had not returned. In August 2016, it was confirmed that both families were still missing.