Children of notorious IS fighter Michael Skråmo left orphaned and alone in caliphate after he is killed in Baghouz
Video report by ITV News Security Editor Rohit Kachroo
The children of notorious Islamic State fighter Michael Skråmo are feared to have been orphaned and left alone in the caliphate.
In their first interview, Skråmo's mother and sister have told ITV News they're desperate for the safe return of the seven children who all under the age of ten.
They were told on Thursday that Skråmo had died during the final battle in Baghouz, the last geographical area controlled by so-called Islamic State.
The children, aged between one and eight years old, are still mourning the loss of their mother who died earlier this year.
In a heartbreaking video, obtained by ITV News, the seven brothers and sisters are seen to be sending messages to their family in Sweden.
Watching the video in Sweden, their grandmother told ITV News: "It hurts so bad. Because I wish, I wish I was there to just hug them and take care of them. Yes, it's hard"
Despite being fully supportive of her son's conversion to Islam she said she was heartbroken when he took the family and his wife to Syria.
Days before his death, Skråmo's mother, urged him via a text message to "let the children go."
The series of text messages read: "'Please Michael, let the children...'"
"...let the children go so they'll be in safety."
Responding with heart emojis, he replied: "I'll contact you, mum, when I'm out, Inshallah."
But since that exchange she's heard "nothing", she told ITV News.
Skråmo's sister said their relationship was "unfiltered", adding he had died believing he had done the right thing.
"Yes we have a very close relationship and we talk very unfiltered with each other and he was telling me that he was going there and he didn't want me to say anything to my mum," she said.
She added: "He's a very determined person. He's a very stubborn person and nothing we say or want really affects him because he has his belief and he has this stubbornness to it.
"But I'm very thankful that we've had this contact because it means the world to me."
Skråmo's death comes as fighting continues in the village of Baghouz, which remains the last IS stronghold in war-torn Syria.