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CONFLICTING STORIES BEING TOLD BY PRIME MINISTER JACINDA "The Hijabi" ARDERN….AND New Zealand's isis "BUMBLING jihadi" MARK TAYLOR.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will not divulge the number of New Zealand citizens currently in the Syria conflict zone.
"There are a small number of New Zealand citizens – some of whom are dual citizens – who could be there. For national security reasons, we are not prepared to be more explicit about that."
~~In 2015, Kitteridge told Key there was "presumably" a rise in the number of New Zealand women travelling to the Syria and Iraq to become Jihadi brides.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern refuses to comment on NZ official who spoke to Kiwi jihadist Mark Taylor.
She said no contact had been made with Mr Taylor since he was detained by Kurdish forces, despite his claim to have spoken to security officials.
Reporter said Mr Taylor also told him he had spoken with New Zealand representatives since his arrest in December. "He said shortly after his arrest he was spoken to by New Zealand intelligence officials on the ground here.
"The Prime Minister has confirmed New Zealand won't make "Kiwi Jihadi" Mark Taylor stateless, however he is without a passport and will find obtaining one logistically difficult.
That was largely because he was being held captive in Syria by Kurdish forces, and it was up to him to try to find consular support.
New Zealand does not have a diplomatic presence in Syria.
The Minister Andrew Little, who's responsible for the country's spying agencies, the Security Service and the GCSB, wasn't any more forthcoming.
In spite of his terrorist connections, Taylor had been an avid social media user. In the past, he has used his online accounts to announce he'd burned his New Zealand passport and to encourage others to wage jihad on Anzac Day.
In 2015, he accidentally gave away the coordinates of Islamic State fighters on Twitter, earning him global notoriety as the "bumbling jihadi".
Mark Taylor: 'Kiwi Jihadi' hopes to come home to NZ and start a cannabis business.
"He didn't have regrets about joining ISIS, he had regrets about how that had subsequently turned out for him later."
MacDiarmid said Taylor seemed surprised by that response. However he also said Taylor didn't seem to understand the magnitude of the situation he was in.
"He actually said he felt “stabbed in the back” because apparently he's been in touch with New Zealand intelligence," MacDiarmid said.
Taylor claimed that intelligence had previously been urging him to leave ISIS.
"I think he assumed that once he left, he could expect some kind of assistance to get him back to New Zealand."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111057052/mark-taylor-kiwi-jihadi-hopes-to-come-home-to-nz-and-start-a-cannabis-business
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111057052/mark-taylor-kiwi-jihadi-hopes-to-come-home-to-nz-and-start-a-cannabis-business