The father of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uk-teen-runaway-who-joined-is-wants-to-come-home-197390">London teenager Shamima Begum</a>, who married an Islamic State group militant in Syria, insisted in an interview with AFP on Monday that Britain must take her back before deciding any punishment.

Begum, who gave <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uk-teen-who-joined-is-has-given-birth-in-syria-family-197927">birth this month in a refugee camp</a>, has said she wants to come home -- but the British government has decided to revoke her citizenship, calling her a security threat.

The 19-year-old's father Ahmed Ali said that while his daughter had made mistakes, Britain was duty-bound to let her return.

"The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-says-is-teen-shamima-begum-not-eligible-for-citizenship-198689">British government should take her back</a> because she is a British citizen," said Ali, who has been following Begum's plight from a remote village in northeastern Bangladesh.

"If she has committed any crime, they should bring her back to London, to her country, and punish her there."

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/family-of-is-teen-shamima-begum-to-fight-uk-decision-to-strip-citizenship-198973">Begum left the UK for Syria with two school friends in 2015</a>, when she was just 15, and her case has caused political divisions in Britain.

It highlights a dilemma facing many European countries, divided over whether to allow jihadists and IS sympathisers home to face prosecution or bar them as the so-called "caliphate" crumbles.

Public sentiment hardened against Begum after she showed little remorse about IS attacks in media interviews from the camp in eastern Syria, where she arrived after fleeing fighting between the terror group and US-backed forces.

Ali, 60, said comments he had made to a London newspaper saying he backed UK interior minister Sajid Javid's decision to strip Begum of her nationality had been "misinterpreted".

"I don't think that (to revoke Begum's citizenship) was a right thing to do," he said.

"To err is human. You and I can both can make a mistake. It is OK to commit an error, all humans do that. One feels sad if a child commits a mistake," he told AFP.

Ali, who lives with his second wife in the village of Daorai in Sunamganj district, said he felt sorry for his daughter and believed she may have been brainwashed into joining IS.

"It was certainly a mistake to go to IS. Perhaps it was because she was a child. She may not have gone there (Syria) willingly. She may have been ill-advised by other people," he said.

Ahmed last saw his daughter in Britain just two months before she fled to Syria with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase in March 2015.

He says she did not show any sign of having been radicalised. "I did not see any such thing at all."&nbsp;

He also highlighted how the Bangladesh government has declared that Begum would not be allowed into the country.

The British government reportedly believes that Begum was entitled to claim Bangladesh citizenship, though this is disputed by the South Asian country.

"She can't come to Bangladesh since she is not a citizen of this country," he said.

Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer for Begum's family, earlier said the teenager was born in Britain and had never had a Bangladeshi passport.

The father of London teenager Shamima Begum, who married an Islamic State group militant in Syria, insisted in an interview with AFP on Monday that Britain must take her back before deciding any punishment.

The father of London teenager Shamima Begum, who married an Islamic State group militant in Syria, insisted in an interview with AFP on Monday that Britain must take her back before deciding any punishment. Begum, who gave birth this month in a refugee camp, has said she wants to come home -- but the British government has decided to revoke her citizenship, calling her a security threat. The 19-year-old's father Ahmed Ali said that while his daughter had made mistakes, Britain was duty-bound to let her return. "The British government should take her back because she is a British citizen," said Ali, who has been following Begum's plight from a remote village in northeastern Bangladesh. "If she has committed any crime, they should bring her back to London, to her country, and punish her there." Begum left the UK for Syria with two school friends in 2015, when she was just 15, and her case has caused political divisions in Britain. It highlights a dilemma facing many European countries, divided over whether to allow jihadists and IS sympathisers home to face prosecution or bar them as the so-called "caliphate" crumbles. Public sentiment hardened against Begum after she showed little remorse about IS attacks in media interviews from the camp in eastern Syria, where she arrived after fleeing fighting between the terror group and US-backed forces. Ali, 60, said comments he had made to a London newspaper saying he backed UK interior minister Sajid Javid's decision to strip Begum of her nationality had been "misinterpreted". "I don't think that (to revoke Begum's citizenship) was a right thing to do," he said. "To err is human. You and I can both can make a mistake. It is OK to commit an error, all humans do that. One feels sad if a child commits a mistake," he told AFP. Ali, who lives with his second wife in the village of Daorai in Sunamganj district, said he felt sorry for his daughter and believed she may have been brainwashed into joining IS. "It was certainly a mistake to go to IS. Perhaps it was because she was a child. She may not have gone there (Syria) willingly. She may have been ill-advised by other people," he said. Ahmed last saw his daughter in Britain just two months before she fled to Syria with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase in March 2015. He says she did not show any sign of having been radicalised. "I did not see any such thing at all." He also highlighted how the Bangladesh government has declared that Begum would not be allowed into the country. The British government reportedly believes that Begum was entitled to claim Bangladesh citizenship, though this is disputed by the South Asian country. "She can't come to Bangladesh since she is not a citizen of this country," he said. Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer for Begum's family, earlier said the teenager was born in Britain and had never had a Bangladeshi passport.

Bangladesh: Father of Islamic State teen Shamima Begum says Britain must take her back

A Saudi-led coalition intensified air strikes on Yemen early&nbsp;on Wednesday&nbsp;as the armed Houthi movement tightened its grip on the capital after it killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who switched sides in the civil war.

Saudi Arabia and its allies struck a day after Saleh&#39;s son vowed to lead a campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis.

The intervention by Ahmed Ali, a former leader of the elite Republican Guard once seen as a likely successor to his father, gives the anti-Houthi movement a potential figurehead after a week of fighting that saw the Houthis rout Saleh&#39;s supporters in the capital.

Yemen&#39;s war, pitting the Iran-allied Houthis who control Sanaa against a Saudi-led military alliance backing a government based in the south, has brought what the United Nations calls the world&#39;s worst humanitarian crisis.

Saleh had helped the Houthis win control of much of the country&#39;s north, including Sanaa, and his decision to switch allegiances and abandon the Houthis in the past week was the most dramatic change on the battlefield in years.

But the Houthis swiftly crushed the pro-Saleh uprising in the capital and killed him.

Coalition fighter jets carried out dozens of air strikes, both sides said, bombing Houthi positions inside Sanaa and in other northern provinces.

Yemen&#39;s pro-Houthi Al Masirah television station said the coalition bombed Saleh&#39;s residence and other houses of his family members.

Residents told Reuter&#39;s loud explosions were heard in downtown Sanaa.

Masirah said air strikes also hit northern provinces including Taiz, Haja, Midi, and Saada. There was no immediate word on casualties.

In a sign of support and defiance, tens of thousands of Houthi supporters staged a rally in Sanaa&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;to celebrate the death of Saleh. They chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia and its allies.

The proxy war between regional arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has already killed more than 10,000 people, with more than two million displaced. Nearly a million have been hit by a cholera outbreak and famine threatens much of the country.

The United Nations says millions of people may die in one of the worst famines of modern times, caused by warring parties blocking food supplies.

The UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, called on all parties to show restraint in a briefing to the Security Council.

&quot;Increased hostilities will further threaten civilian lives and exacerbate their suffering,&quot; he said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;that the killing of Saleh would, in the short term, likely worsen an already dire humanitarian situation in the country.

Mattis, speaking with reporters on a military aircraft en route to Washington after a brief trip to parts of the Middle East and South Asia, said it was too early to say what impact the killing would have on the war.

He said it could either push the conflict towards U.N. peace negotiations or make it an &quot;even more vicious war.&quot;

The commander of Iran&rsquo;s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Yemen&rsquo;s enemies had been behind Saleh&#39;s armed uprising and praised what he called the Houthis&#39; swift quashing of the &quot;coup against the holy warriors&quot;, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The death of Saleh, who once compared ruling Yemen to dancing on the heads of snakes, deepens the complexity of the multi-sided war.

Much is likely to depend on the future allegiances of his loyalists, who had previously helped the armed Houthi group, which hails from the Zaidi branch of Shi&#39;ite Islam that ruled a thousand-year kingdom in northern Yemen until 1962.

In a statement sent to Reuters by an aide, his son said his father was killed at &quot;the hands of the enemies of God and the country&quot;.

Ahmed Ali said he would &quot;confront the enemies of the homeland and humanity, who are trying to obliterate its identity and its gains and to humiliate Yemen and Yemenis&quot;.

The Arabian peninsula&#39;s poorest country, Yemen is one of the most violent fronts in the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have also backed opposing sides in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia and its allies struck a day after Saleh's son vowed to lead a campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis

A Saudi-led coalition intensified air strikes on Yemen early on Wednesday as the armed Houthi movement tightened its grip on the capital after it killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who switched sides in the civil war. Saudi Arabia and its allies struck a day after Saleh's son vowed to lead a campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis. The intervention by Ahmed Ali, a former leader of the elite Republican Guard once seen as a likely successor to his father, gives the anti-Houthi movement a potential figurehead after a week of fighting that saw the Houthis rout Saleh's supporters in the capital. Yemen's war, pitting the Iran-allied Houthis who control Sanaa against a Saudi-led military alliance backing a government based in the south, has brought what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Saleh had helped the Houthis win control of much of the country's north, including Sanaa, and his decision to switch allegiances and abandon the Houthis in the past week was the most dramatic change on the battlefield in years. But the Houthis swiftly crushed the pro-Saleh uprising in the capital and killed him. Coalition fighter jets carried out dozens of air strikes, both sides said, bombing Houthi positions inside Sanaa and in other northern provinces. Yemen's pro-Houthi Al Masirah television station said the coalition bombed Saleh's residence and other houses of his family members. Residents told Reuter's loud explosions were heard in downtown Sanaa. Masirah said air strikes also hit northern provinces including Taiz, Haja, Midi, and Saada. There was no immediate word on casualties. In a sign of support and defiance, tens of thousands of Houthi supporters staged a rally in Sanaa on Tuesday to celebrate the death of Saleh. They chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia and its allies. The proxy war between regional arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has already killed more than 10,000 people, with more than two million displaced. Nearly a million have been hit by a cholera outbreak and famine threatens much of the country. The United Nations says millions of people may die in one of the worst famines of modern times, caused by warring parties blocking food supplies. The UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, called on all parties to show restraint in a briefing to the Security Council. "Increased hostilities will further threaten civilian lives and exacerbate their suffering," he said. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that the killing of Saleh would, in the short term, likely worsen an already dire humanitarian situation in the country. Mattis, speaking with reporters on a military aircraft en route to Washington after a brief trip to parts of the Middle East and South Asia, said it was too early to say what impact the killing would have on the war. He said it could either push the conflict towards U.N. peace negotiations or make it an "even more vicious war." The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Yemen’s enemies had been behind Saleh's armed uprising and praised what he called the Houthis' swift quashing of the "coup against the holy warriors", the semi-official Fars news agency reported. The death of Saleh, who once compared ruling Yemen to dancing on the heads of snakes, deepens the complexity of the multi-sided war. Much is likely to depend on the future allegiances of his loyalists, who had previously helped the armed Houthi group, which hails from the Zaidi branch of Shi'ite Islam that ruled a thousand-year kingdom in northern Yemen until 1962. In a statement sent to Reuters by an aide, his son said his father was killed at "the hands of the enemies of God and the country". Ahmed Ali said he would "confront the enemies of the homeland and humanity, who are trying to obliterate its identity and its gains and to humiliate Yemen and Yemenis". The Arabian peninsula's poorest country, Yemen is one of the most violent fronts in the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have also backed opposing sides in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere across the Middle East.

Saudi-led coalition intensifies Yemen air strikes after Saleh's death

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Bangladesh: Father of Islamic State teen Shamima Begum says Britain must take her back

Saudi-led coalition intensifies Yemen air strikes after Saleh's death