Aimee & Ali: The unhappy story of a Canadian ISIS couple

They met astatine a northbound Edmonton bar, according to a household member.

She was a Métis with raven hairsbreadth and looks passed down from her Dene parent and Ecuadoran father.

He was the lad of Lebanese immigrants, with an casual grin and the old-fashioned decency to question her family’s support earlier asking her out.

At their wedding, she wore a strapless achromatic gown and veil, and they were Mrs. Aimee Lucia Vasconez and Mr. Ali Abdel-Jabbar, with 2 sons to follow.

And then, they threw it each distant for the Islamic State, the violent radical helium died warring for successful Syria, according to an RCMP study obtained by Global News.

Meanwhile, she is simply a 40-year-old azygous mother, surviving successful an Edmonton flat pursuing her release past twelvemonth from a detention campy successful Syria.

For nationalist information reasons, her actions were restricted by the Alberta tribunal aft the RCMP told a justice that she, too, had joined an ISIS battalion.

“She’s not the aforesaid Aimee that we knew,” her sister-in-law Lacey MacMillan told Global News.

“It each happened truthful fast.”

Ten years aft it emerged arsenic a toxic premix of fanaticism and ultraviolence, ISIS has near a way of ruin successful the Middle East, but besides successful Alberta.

Alberta has played an outsized relation successful ISIS, with residents “overrepresented” among Canadians who went overseas to articulation groups similar ISIS, a 2019 study said.

A antheral who robbed an Edmonton jewelry store to rise wealth for ISIS is serving clip successful a U.S. prison.

A Calgary man was sentenced to 12 years successful 2022 for his relation arsenic an ISIS combatant successful Syria. His cousin was besides charged.

A younker was arrested successful Calgary past twelvemonth implicit a plot to people Pride month. The probe resulted successful the arrests of 3 minors.

In July, an Edmonton man, Khaled Hussein, was convicted of coercion successful the United Kingdom on with pro-ISIS preacher Anjem Choudary.

Many others are dead, immoderate killed successful conjugation airstrikes.

Explanations vary, from a occupation marketplace that attracts those looking for speedy wealth earlier going overseas, to the lingering interaction of extremists specified arsenic Kassem Daher.

A suspected violent fundraiser, Daher ran Edmonton-area cinemas and allegedly radicalized others, immoderate of whom stay progressive today.

The caput of RCMP nationalist information investigations, Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin, said she did not see Alberta an ISIS “hot spot.”

“I wouldn’t accidental that there’s a attraction of individuals successful Alberta, per se,” she said successful an interview.

“I mean, there’s been a fig of Canadian extremist travellers that near Canada to articulation ISIS, and they came from crossed Canada and not needfully from Alberta.”

But ISIS documents amusement that respective recruits utilized telephone numbers with Alberta’s 403 country code, and much women who were portion of ISIS and were caught successful Syria person returned to Alberta than immoderate different province.

Police documents amusement the RCMP has launched astatine slightest 2 investigations into Alberta residents who joined ISIS, named Project Séance and Project Soldar.

“There’s radical that are going around…recruiting for ISIS,” MacMillan said successful an interview. “That conscionable blows my caput that’s happening successful this city, successful Edmonton.”

When Aimee appeared successful an Edmonton courtroom connected May 22, 2024, she was unrecognizable from the smiling young graphic decorator seen successful household photos.

Wearing a navy robe and achromatic niqab, she stayed seated astatine the backmost of the courtroom upon the accomplishment of the judge, who paused to punctual her that “everyone needs to stand.”

Sixteen years earlier, Aimee had gone to an Edmonton portion promenade barroom with her cousin, MacMillan said. She wanted to dance. Ali was determination with a friend.

“He ended up winning implicit Aimee’s parents due to the fact that helium had a bully job,” she said. “He didn’t drink, helium had a bully household and had the aforesaid values Aimee had.”

Ali studied chemic engineering astatine the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and started his ain landscaping concern successful 2009.

But aft they moved to a townhouse successful North Edmonton, her household noticed a change. Clean-shaven astatine their wedding, Ali grew a beard and became much strict with Aimee, she told the FBI.

A Catholic, she had converted to Islam and began wearing a hijab that covered her hair. She besides became much reserved, her relative Sharlyn told the RCMP.

Ali spent small clip astatine home, and the relative lone saw him erstwhile helium stopped by earlier prayers, according to the RCMP’s summary of its interrogation with her.

At a day enactment astatine Ali and Aimee’s home, guests arrived to find a expanse hung successful the room, dividing the women from the men, the relative told police.

By then, Ali had founded M2M Productions, which produced videos of sermons and interviews with Islamic figures, immoderate of them controversial.

Their next-door neighbours astatine their townhouse analyzable were Helena Carson, a Muslim person similar Aimee, and her husband, Yazan Kalouti.

Like Ali, Kalouti ran his ain tiny business, Kalouti Enterprises, which did painting, renovations, moving and maintenance, according to Alberta firm records.

Kalouti was besides learning however to shoot.

On Aug. 14, 2014, Rick Kermode stopped by the Wabamun Gun Club and saw 3 men dressed successful black, firing military-style rifles with illegal, overcapacity ammunition clips.

A subordinate of the club, Kermode checked the logbook and saw they hadn’t signed in. He confronted them and they got upset. Feeling threatened, Kermode left.

He past phoned a nine executive, Tim Bennett, who drove retired to the range, 70 km westbound of Edmonton, and saw 3 Middle Eastern men, according to the RCMP.

Their SKS rifles had magazines with 3 times the ineligible bounds of ammunition, and they “demonstrated inexperienced, uneducated and antithetic weapon handling procedures,” the constabulary study said.

Rather than aiming astatine targets from a stationary position, they were moving down the scope and firing from the hep similar they were playing soldier.

Bennett approached them, and the “confrontation became heated,” the RCMP wrote. One of them produced a rank paper that identified him arsenic Ali.

An RCMP probe subsequently learned the names of the different two: Baris Bagis and Kalouti, but erstwhile constabulary went looking for them, they had already near Canada.

Claiming helium wanted to unrecorded successful a Muslim country, Ali had told household members helium was moving to the Persian Gulf. But that appears to person been a screen story.

Around that time, erstwhile Al Qaeda operative Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had committed an audacious fraud, declaring that Syria and Iraq were present portion of a caller “Islamic State.”

In August 2014, his extremist fighters began implementing his envisioned intolerant godforsaken kingdom, massacring, raping and enslaving Yazidis, an Iraqi spiritual minority.

A U.S.-led coalition, joined by Canada, responded with airstrikes. To show their resolve, ISIS beheaded Western journalists and assistance workers connected video.

After returning location from Turkey, 1 of the men caught astatine the weapon scope with Ali, Bagis, confirmed what constabulary apt already suspected: Ali “had gone to Syria to fight.”

After Ali left, Aimee went to spot MacMillan but earlier stepping into the house, asked if determination were immoderate men inside, she said.

“She ne'er ever said that before, truthful that was similar a reddish flag,” MacMillan said, describing Aimee as, “very obedient to her husband.”

Now wearing a niqab that shielded her face, she had brought a postulation of unused toys, inactive successful their packaging.

Aimee explained they were philharmonic instruments, and her children were forbidden from playing with them. She gave them to MacMillan’s son.

On Feb. 7, 2015, Aimee withdrew astir $50,000 from the bank, which the RCMP said showed she was preparing “for a imperishable determination to Syria to unrecorded nether ISIS.”

A period later, her mother, Brenda, drove her to the airport. She asked to spot Aimee’s formation itinerary, but her girl made excuses, the RCMP wrote.

“She told her ma the achromatic emblem had risen, immoderate that meant, and she had to spell to Qatar to spot Ali,” MacMillan said.

The ISIS emblem is black.

She flew to Istanbul and Ali met her and the kids astatine the airport. From there, they drove to the borderline and crossed into Syria connected foot.

Bureaucratic terrorists, ISIS kept logs that recorded the names and nationalities of those arriving astatine its borders.

Many of the files were aboriginal collected by the U.S.-led subject conjugation and shared done what was called Operation Gallant Phoenix.

Ledgers recovered successful the metropolis of Tabqah bespeak that Aimee and Ali arrived successful ISIS-controlled territory successful March 2015.

They entered unneurotic with Carson and Kalouti, according to a summary of the records successful the RCMP study connected its investigation.

Ali underwent a period of training, and was assigned to a brigade for overseas fighters, Aimee told the FBI.

They lived successful an flat successful Manbij, but aft a year, the metropolis came nether onslaught and they moved to Raqqah.

Ali returned to support Manbij, but successful August 2016, Aimee heard from a person that helium was dead.

Initially, the families successful Canada were told helium died successful a car mishap successful Qatar. But the Qatar authorities has nary grounds of specified a death.

Aimee aboriginal told the FBI helium died during fighting. Another Canadian ISIS pistillate told the RCMP Aimee had confided to her that Ali died successful a bombing.

Records the FBI recovered from the battlefield bespeak that connected Aug. 28, 2016, Aimee wrote to ISIS to use for “martyrdom benefits.”

In the signifier she filled out, she indicated Ali had served successful the Anwar Awlaki Brigade, a warring portion made up of occidental fighters.

According to the RCMP, Ali “was successful information killed successful Syria portion warring arsenic a subordinate of the Islamic State.”

Following his death, the RCMP asked MacMillan and her hubby to travel to the K Division office successful Edmonton, she said.

“They were asking america questions implicit and implicit again if we knew thing astir ISIS,” MacMillan said.

“Of people not!”

The ISIS motto was “remaining and expanding,” but aft its archetypal occurrence successful Syria and Iraq, it managed neither.

Coalition airstrikes and pro-U.S. Kurdish forces killed ample numbers of ISIS fighters and pushed the remainder eastbound towards Iraq.

Suffering important losses of territory, the ISIS enactment began preparing women to instrumentality connected warring roles.

Four months aft Ali’s death, Aimee’s sanction appeared successful a signifier seized from ISIS titled “Training to Fight,” according to the RCMP.

It was addressed to the “female department” of the ISIS governor’s bureau successful Raqqah, and indicates she was assigned to a warring unit, constabulary alleged.

“It is believed that Aimee joined an ISIS battalion and has apt been trained successful subject tactics, weapons and techniques by ISIS members,” the RCMP said successful its report.

As Raqqah fell, she fled with ISIS, moving southwest on the Euphrates River valley, archetypal to Mayadeen, past to Hajin.

Finally, she reached Baghouz and determination was obscurity to go. They were hemmed successful against the impassable Iraqi border.

“Mom, it’s getting worse and I don’t know, you’re conscionable going to person to commune for maine that we bash each survive,” she said successful a signaling she sent her mother.

Shooting and explosions were audible successful the background, arsenic the Syrian Democratic Forces finished disconnected the remnants of ISIS and took thousands of prisoners, galore of them overseas extremists.

Aimee was large again. The begetter was a Bosnian ISIS subordinate who was killed 3 months aft they were married.

Left unsocial with 2 kids, and different connected the way, she paid a smuggler US$1,000 to instrumentality her and the kids to Turkey, but Kurdish fighters captured her connected Feb. 6, 2019.

At an assembly constituent wherever captives were screened and sent to detention camps, a CNN newsman enactment his camera connected Aimee and she claimed Ali had made her travel to Syria.

“He’s like, ‘It’s obligatory for you,’” she said. “And arsenic a Muslim woman you person to obey, adjacent though it was truly hard for maine to bash it.”

Her member was “mortified” to larn she had joined a 2nd ISIS member, MacMillan said. “That’s his babe sister!”

“So that was truly hard for him, to perceive each this,” she said. “He was huffy astatine her astatine first, but past helium was truly huffy astatine Ali.”

Also hard to fathom was her determination to bring her children to a warfare zone. “She should person near the kids with her ma and dad,” MacMillan said.

The Al Hol detention campy successful northeast Syria was a oversea of tents enclosed by barbed wire. Kurdish fighters guarded the perimeters.

Later, she was moved to the smaller Roj Camp, wherever FBI officers interviewed her connected May 18, 2021, and shared her responses with the RCMP.

The FBI besides sent the RCMP what they called Collected Exploitable Material — grounds recovered connected the battlefield.

Gathered from physics devices and papers, it included Aimee’s alleged exertion forms for martyrdom benefits and ISIS training.

While her household wanted her home, the Canadian authorities argued it had nary work to assistance her truthful Aimee’s begetter contacted the authorities of Ecuador, according to MacMillan.

“If Canada wasn’t going to bash it, Ecuador was going to bash it,” she said. The Ecuadoran embassy successful Ottawa did not respond to questions sent by Global News.

But pursuing a suit by the families, Canada relented and began shuttling the women backmost to Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Alberta.

On April 5, 2023, a Global Affairs Canada delegation travelled to the Semalka borderline station successful northeast Syria to instrumentality custody of Aimee.

She flew retired the adjacent time aboard a U.S. subject plane, on with 3 Toronto-area women.

The RCMP was acceptable with an apprehension warrant, having convinced an Alberta justice determination were tenable grounds she mightiness perpetrate coercion erstwhile she got home.

For 8 years, she had lived nether ISIS. She had allegedly sought combat training. She had “expressed nary regret,” the RCMP argued successful an affidavit.

“To support nationalist safety, it is necessary to instrumentality contiguous measures to show Aimee’s activities and communications,” the affidavit said.

The level landed successful Montreal and the RCMP took her into custody, but she was not charged. Instead, constabulary asked the tribunal for a coercion bid bond.

Peace bonds enforce court-ordered conditions connected suspects, typically for a year. In Aimee’s case, constabulary wanted net and driving bans, and a curfew, among different restrictions.

The tribunal besides sent her to a de-radicalization program. At first, she went to Edmonton’s Organization for the Prevention of Violence.

Her counsellor, Pamela Ferguson, recovered her “open, accepting and cooperative” astatine their play meetings, she wrote successful a letter.

But Aimee did not consciousness the programme was a “good match” and alternatively got connected the waiting database astatine an Islamic societal services agency.

Aimee’s 3 sons went a nationalist school, but successful September 2023 she moved them to an Islamic schoolhouse and was considering home-schooling.

The counsellor did not perceive Aimee accidental thing that raised information concerns, she said, but “due to ineligible proceedings, these areas person not been a taxable of discussion.”

The lawyer represented Aimee, Yoav Niv, declined to comment, arsenic did her mother. But MacMillan said she wanted radical to cognize who Aimee was, arsenic opposed to the changed pistillate who came location from Syria.

“Something evidently happened to her implicit there. She doesn’t speech astir anything, she’s precise cold,” MacMillan said.

“That’s not the Aimee I knew.”

Her youngest lad was calved successful Syria. The eldest has proceeding nonaccomplishment from each the explosions, she said. MacMillan shudders to ideate what they indispensable person seen.

MacMillan said her hubby blames Ali. “But astatine what constituent does Aimee not say, ‘Hey, this is not OK.’ That’s the disconnect. Because she was ne'er raised similar that.”

“I consciousness similar they forced her, oregon they brainwashed her. Because Aimee, she’s a bully woman. She’s got a bully heart, due to the fact that she took attraction of those kids implicit there.”

“Even though she brought them there, she kept them alive,” she said. “We conscionable privation Aimee back, we privation her and the boys to beryllium capable to heal.”

“I privation my sister back.”

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca