Pregnant woman, believed to be Indonesian, dies in Syrian refugee camp for Islamic State members: Reports
02 August, 2019
A pregnant woman, who is believed to be an Indonesian citizen and a member of Islamic State, has been found dead in a Syrian refugee camp, Hawar News Agency reported.
The Indonesian embassy in Damascus on Wednesday (Jul 31) said it was verifying her citizenship, Indonesia's Antara news agency reported.
On Sunday, Hawar reported that the woman's body had been found by al-Hol refugee camp management in a tent. The woman, named Sodermini, was then brought to Kurdish Red Crescent Hospital, Hawar News Agency added.
According to the Red Crescent report, she was six months pregnant and had been beaten and tortured, the news agency added. There were bruises on her body and she had died as a result of the violence.
She was in her 30s and had three children, the Hawar report added.
Describing her as "one of the women of mercenaries", the report said the motives behind "her death by women in the camp" were still unknown.
Teuku Faizasyah, acting spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said the ongoing conflict and armed violence in Syria are complicating efforts to verify Sodermini's citizenship.
"Moreover, as reported previously, the area where the incident was located is under a group that is opposed to the Syrian government," he said in a message to Antara.
Al-Hol is located in northwestern Syria, where the Kurdish administration is in power, said Antara.