IS recruitment: British, US med students head to Turkey

Nine British students from the same university in Sudan travelled to Turkey in March to join IS

KHARTOUM: Twelve students, including British, Canadian, Sudanese and US citizens, are feared to have travelled from Khartoum to Turkey to try to join the Islamic State (IS).

Another group of nine British students of Sudanese origin from the same private University of Medical Sciences and Technology travelled to Turkey in March to join IS.

“We confirmed reports from multiple parties that 12 medical students at the university left for Turkey on Friday,” dean Dr Ahmed Babikir said on Sunday.

Khartoum airport authorities confirmed the group had travelled to Turkey and the students’ families said they had not seen them since Friday and were unable to find their passports, Babikir said. It was likely they were trying to reach Syria to join IS, he added.

Seven of the missing students are British, two are Canadian and one is American, Babikir said. All are understood to be of Sudanese origin. Three of the students were women.

The British and US embassies in Khartoum did not immediately comment on the report.

“These students were recruited to IS by some individuals inside the university,” a source in the university said on condition of anonymity.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2015.