EXCLUSIVE: American woman killed in Syria married Muslim man in a sham ceremony and never even lived with him, family members claim



Nicole Lynn Mansfield, 33, of Flint, Michigan, was accused of working with an al-Qaeda rebel affiliate in the war-torn nation

Met husband, Ayman Mohammed Bafil, online and married him so he could get his Green Card, her grandmother said

Grandmother said the family are 'true-blooded Americans'

Her daughter said she was a 'regular American woman who was misguided by the people'

Her father Gregory revealed he told the FBI to revoke his daughter's passport several years ago because he had concerns over Israel



The American woman who was shot dead in Syria accused of being an Al Qaeda supporter married a Muslim man in a sham wedding for which she was paid cash and a van, MailOnline can reveal.

Nicole Mansfield entered in a 'deal' with Ayman Mohammed Bafil under which they would stay together until he got a green card.

The pair met online, never lived together and did not even consummate their marriage - but after his papers came through he paid her what he owed.

A more recent picture taken of Nicole with her grandfather: Some years later she met and married an Arab man and converted to Islam

Nicole Lynn Mansfield was shot dead by Syrian government forces along with two other Westerners - reportedly both British - The 33-year-old is from Flint, Michigan and converted to Islam several years ago following marriage to an Arab man

Records show that the couple were married in July 2010 but divorced in August 2011 when she apparently learned that he had another family.

It was Nicole's second marriage having previously wed when she was 24 though it later fell apart.

Nicole's motives for helping out Mr Bafil are unclear but around the time they met she became interested in Islam and became a Muslim.

Speaking to MailOnline, Nicole's grandmother Carole said that she disapproved of her marriage to the Middle Eastern man, who she claimed was living in Toronto at the time.

This close up picture shows a British passport (left) and the passport of Nicole Lynn Mansfield (right) - who both died in a gunfight with Syrian government forces

Carol said: 'It was a deal. They didn't live together and they didn't consummate their relationship.

'She told us she got a van. I don't know know how new it was or if it was nearly new. She said that she got the van and some change.

'The van is at her friend's house, I believe.

'It was arranged, not arranged, it was a marriage of convenience. He got his green card and she got a van.'

One of Nicole's close friends, Tasha Williams, said Nicole called in mid-May to say she would be returning on a flight from Turkey to the U.S. in a few days after traveling to Syria to see a man.

She wanted to be picked up at the Cincinnati airport.

Williams said: 'She said she was in a hotel room. She needed to get away from everything. I never heard from her again'.

Daughter Triana Jones sobbed today as she defended her mother and condemned those responsible for the pictures: 'The first time I saw them I had to look again because I didn't even recognize her. I had to look again'

Daughter: Triana Lynn Mansfield, right, took to Facebook on Friday to blame the Syrian government for her mother's death while denying her accused ties to terrorism

Nicole Mansfield: With her wide-eyed innocence and angelic smile, it is difficult to imagine this little girl from Michigan would be gunned down on a Syrian street less than 30 years later

The allegations came as the daughter of the American woman who was gunned down in a street in Syria, accused of being part of an al-Qaeda influenced group, said her mother is not a terrorist and only went there to help the Syrians.



On Wednesday, Nicole Lynn Mansfield, from Michigan, became the only American known to have been killed fighting in Syria, where 70,000 people have died in a two-year civil war.

While pictures of the 33-year-old, who converted to Islam several years ago after marrying an Arab man, were broadcast from TV stations and images of her bloodied body circulated the internet, FBI agents delivered the news to her family.

Her daughter Triana Jones sobbed today as she defended her mother and condemned those responsible for the pictures.



'The first time I saw those pictures I had to look again because I didn't even recognize her. I had to look again,' Jones told CNN.



'I looked at her body and her feet and her hands and her nose and her mouth and I knew it was her.



'It makes me mad that they are over the Internet...I shouldn't have to see my mother's body like that.

'There are people calling her a CIA agent and a terrorist. She was an American woman misguided by people who had good intentions but were extreme about it and didn't need to be.



'It really makes me sick to my stomach that people post such horrible things. I know that she was talking to people online and that they told her about the project in Syria. And that she was interested in going over there to help.



'She didn't think it would be fighting, she told me there wouldn't be no guns or anything. She would never be involved in that.

'And they lied to her. They misled her and took her over there and probably paid for her ticket and everything and they kept her there.'

She qualified to CNN that the 'project' was 'to help free the Syrians from the Syrian government and all the problems that they're having over there'.

Jones said her mother told her last week that she wouldn't be home for a few weeks because someone stole her ID - the same ID that was flashed on TV screens last night with the picture of Mansfield wearing a hijab and headscarf.



Mourning: Burton resident Carole Mansfield, 72, breaks down into tears as she reflects on the life of her granddaughter Nicole Mansfield, who was killed in Syria on Wednesday

Family: Nicole as a baby with her father, left, and grandparents Innocent: Smiling at the camera, flanked by her parents and holding her doll with her loving family surrounding her Beliefs: Nicole, pictured with her granddad, would tell people 'that the best way of life was to be a Muslim. And that women should wear scarves...women should always cover their head'

Mansfiled was gunned down with two others - believed to be British Muslims - during a confrontation in the northwestern city of Idlib .



All three have been accused of being fighters for a group opposed to Syria's government.

Television footage showed a black car riddled with bullets and three bodies laid out also with multiple gunshot wounds.



The MailOnline has seen these images but is not publishing them.

Other images shown on Syrian state television include an alleged cache of weapons the three were carrying, a hand drawn map of a government military facility and a flag belonging to the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Nicole's father Gregory also revealed today that he told the FBI about his daughter several years ago when she left the U.S. and told them to take away her passport.



When asked why he thought his daughter going abroad was disturbing enough to warrant notifying the FBI, Gregory refused to explain and would only say his worries concerned 'Israel'.

'I just knew in my heart that something wasn't right. They need not let her go on that way. But my feelings and intuition was right,' he said.



'I know [the FBI] did follow up because they were following her for a while. But they needed to revoke her passport and this would not be going on.'



Concerns: Nicole's father Gregory also revealed today that he told the FBI about his daughter several years ago when she left the U.S. and told them to take away her passport



With her father: Yesterday two FBI agents traveled to see Mansfield's family members and confirmed to them their relative was dead after Syrian state television broadcast images of her passport on Wednesday

Reflect: Her grandmother said Nicole attended Mott Community College and worked as a home health care worker for 10 years. She dropped out of high school when she fell pregnant

Mansfield's aunt Monica Speelman confirmed that her niece had met an Arab man several years ago and become a Muslim and soon started wearing a hijab and headscarf.

Even after the couple divorced, she was adamant that Islam was the right choice for her.

'I am sick over it,' said the deceased woman's aunt 'I didn’t think she was (a terrorist), but God only knows.' She did not know why Mansfield would have been in Syria.

She told people 'that the best way of life was to be a Muslim. And that women should wear scarves...women should always cover their head,' Nicole’s grandmother, Carole Mansfield, 72, told the Free Press.

She said she last saw her granddaughter in December and believed she went to Syria to help 'settle the problems of the world', adding that the Mansfield family 'are true blooded Americans'.

Her daughter took to Facebook today to defend her mother, claiming she was a 'regular American woman who was misguided by the people'.

Triana blamed the Syrian government for her mother's death while denying her accused ties to terrorism.



'She was just a regular American woman who was misguided by the people who just wanted to use her because she’s American,' she wrote. ' How did her ID end up on national television? They forced her to stay and die for media publicity.'



Defense: Nicole's daughter Triana Lynn Mansfield took to Facebook today to defend her mother, pictured, claiming she was a 'regular American woman who was misguided by the people'

Nicole Lynn Mansfield grew up in Flint, Michigan, to Baptist parents. Her father used to be a production worker for GM.



She attended Mott Community College and worked as a home health care worker for 10 years, according to her grandmother.

She dropped out of high school when she fell pregnant with Triana, who is now 18-years-old.



'She had a heart of gold, but she was weak minded,' Mansfield said. 'I think she could have been brain washed.'

Records showed that Mansfield lived in an apartment complex at a different address from her home on Longway Boulevard, according to MLive. An eviction notice was posted on the door dated May 21, 2013.



She is reported to have paid $475 per month, for the three-bedroom apartment since October 8, 2012 but was believed to be secretly subletting it not long after.

Gunned Down: Syrian state television showed the vehicle the woman was traveling in with a British man that appeared to be riddled with bullets

This image from Syrian state television shows the alleged cache of weapons the three Westerner were carrying, their passports and a hand drawn map of a government installation (top right - folded)

Mansfield was reported to be traveling with two other unidentified Westerners, both British citizens, when forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad opened fire.



Syrian state television claimed that the three were fighting with al-Qaeda affiliated rebels and were carrying weapons when they opened fire.



'As we do in all such cases, we are working through our Czech protecting power in Syria to obtain more information, and we appreciate the efforts of the Czech mission on behalf of our citizens,' a U.S. official said.

He added that U.S. authorities could not comment further 'because of privacy considerations.'

Harem town, Idlib, Syria - where the shooting is alleged to have taken place Proud: One of the pictures on Mansfield's Pinterest page which is filed in an album called 'Hometown Love Naver Die'

A Pinterest account belonging to a Nicole Mansfield from Flint, Michigan, is believed to belong to the 33-year-old.

She was active on the site until ten weeks ago. Of her 13 followers, several are people from Michigan who have converted to Islam.

Her interests on the site almost illustrate the story of a normal American woman, proud of where she came from, who also had an interest in Islam.



Many of the pictures she has put up are of puppies, birds, food and places she would like to go. There is a folder called 'Islam' which are mainly stock images of mosques, people worshiping and the holy city of Mecca.

Another album called Hometown Love Never Die shows several pictures of Flint, including Vernor's ginger ale company, a 'Coney dog' - a Michigan variation of the chili dog - and in recognition of Michigan's doomed economy, one image shows a large stone that reads: 'God help save us Flint.'

A woman who claimed to be Nicole's best friend hinted that all was not right in a post on her MySpace page four years ago, pleading with her to come to Indiana.

