Footage emerges appearing to show missing London schoolgirls
CCTV footage has emerged appearing to show three teenage girls who are believed to have fled London to travel to Syria and join the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Footage from Turkish TV has surfaced showing three girls – thought to be Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase – at a bus station in Istanbul.
The clip was recorded overnight on February 17, the day the trio left their homes in east London – deceiving their families by saying they were just going out for the day.
The girls left Britain earlier this month after they were seen boarding a flight at Gatwick Airport in London.
The trio were students at Bethnal Green Academy in east London and are feared to have been radicalised online.
Nearly a week ago intelligence sources in Turkey said the girls had crossed into Syria in a car.
All of us have been horrified by the way that British teenagers appear to have been radicalised and duped by this poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism while at home on the Internet in their bedrooms
They are believed to have entered IS territory through the town of Tal Abyad.
A source told the Daily Telegraph: "They were seen in Tal Abyad on Friday.
"They were travelling with a Syrian male in a private car.
"They were using Syrian identity cards.
"We understand that after arriving in Istanbul the girls met an IS member who is charged with helping foreigners who want to join the group."
Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs the three schoolgirls had been "radicalised and duped" by Internet extremism as he urged schools to do more to prevent repeat instances.
Syria girls- CCTV shows UK teenagers at Istanbul bus station
In a statement to the House of Commons the PM said: "When people are known risks, whatever their age, they go on our Border Warnings Index and we can intervene to prevent travel and seize their passports.
"But what this incident has highlight is the concerning situation where unaccompanied teenagers like these – who are not a known risk – can board a flight to Turkey without necessarily being asked questions by the airline.
"We need new proportionate arrangements with airlines to ensure that these at risk children are properly identified and questioned – and the Home Secretary and Transport Secretary will be working with the airlines to bring this about.
“All of us have been horrified by the way that British teenagers appear to have been radicalised and duped by this poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism while at home on the Internet in their bedrooms."
As many as 500 Britons are understood to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join Islamist groups like IS.
This week saw the masked murder known as Jihadi John unmasked as west Londoner Mohammed Emwazi.
