...

British police set to trace Syria-bound schoolgirls

Arab World Materials 21 February 2015 06:27 (UTC +04:00)
British police have launched an attempt to find three runaway London schoolgirls who are thought to have fled to Syria to join ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
British police set to trace Syria-bound schoolgirls

British police have launched an attempt to find three runaway London schoolgirls who are thought to have fled to Syria to join ISIL Takfiri terrorists, Press TV reported.

Police officers began their investigation on Friday to trace Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and an unnamed 15-year-old.

The three friends left their east London homes on Tuesday and traveled to Turkey's city of Istanbul by a Turkish Airlines flight without informing their families.

UK police officials confirmed that they were cooperating with Turkish authorities in a bid to find the girls and return them home.

"We still think there's a possibility they're in Turkey and that's why we're having the appeal," Richard Walton, the head of the London police's counter terrorism command, said on Friday.

Turkish Airlines did not notify police whether the girls had traveled on board one of its flights.

"We are concerned about the numbers of girls and young women who have or are intending to travel to the part of Syria that is controlled" by the ISIL terror group, Walton noted, adding, "It is an extremely dangerous place and we have seen reports of what life is like for them and how restricted their lives become."

The British government says at least 600 British extremists have joined the ISIL terrorist group, which controls swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.

More than 250 of the militants have already returned to the UK and could pose a security threat to the country.

The Takfiri militants have been committing heinous crimes in the captured areas in Syria and Iraq, including mass executions and beheading of people.

Latest

Latest