Jihadi schoolgirls 'staying in Raqqa with fellow Brit'
THREE British schoolgirls who travelled to Turkey to join Islamic State (IS) are staying in Raqqa, Syria, according to reports.
They're now apparently in a house that is owned or controlled - or at least hosted by - a British girl who had been in contact with them through the internet, and had brought them through Turkey and into Syria
Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase triggered a police hunt after they flew from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul this month.
The girls are "straight A students" at Bethnal Green Academy in east London.
According to Sky News sources the girls are apparently staying in a house "hosted by a British girl" who they had been in contact with on the internet.
It is believed they have crossed into Syria through a crossing, not far from Killis.
A sky source said: "They're now apparently in a house that is owned or controlled - or at least hosted by - a British girl who had been in contact with them through the internet, and had brought them through Turkey and into Syria.
"We are told by very, very good sources within the city of Raqqa that they are there, that they are safe, and that is where they are staying - with this British girl who is hosting them."
This comes after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe today urged parents to come forward if they thought young people were at risk of getting drawn into terrorism.
Sir Hogan-Howe was speaking after Scotland Yard's admission that police should have communicated more directly with the families of the girls.
Police said "with the benefit of hindsight" letters addressed to seven girls' families about a 15-year-old fellow pupil at Bethnal Green Academy, who joined the terror group could have been delivered directly to their parents.
