Three missing girls, suspected to have run away in order to become 'jihadi brides' have already crossed the border into Syria, after being welcomed by one of the members of ISIL in Istanbul, reported to be responsible for helping foreigners join the extremist movement.
Shamina Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, left their homes in the United Kingdom and headed to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) cause in Syria via Turkey. According to the reports, the girls become 'radicalised' via Twitter although it remains unclear under what circumstances their radicalisation undertook such a turn, resulting them to fly to Turkey.
Mosque leaders have stated, however, that the girls were lured to Syria under 'false pretences' and that whatever was promised to them was unlikely to be true.
One of the girls, it is reported, has been in touch with Aqsa Mahmood, a runaway from Scotland who joined the ISIL, and who has been said to have helped recruit the missing girls. Asqa Mahmood, in addition to fleeing Scotland to marry a jihadi in the ISIL, has a record of extremist and aggressive views, having also called upon 'another Woolwich' in reference to the barbaric murder of Lee Rigby.
The plea by the missing girl's parents has been echoed across media, in which they plead with their daughters to make initial contact and are adamant about bringing them back to Britain.
Three girls were interviewed by the police, back in December, in relation to another friend suspected of fleeing to Syria, but the authorities insist that at the time of the interview, girls displayed no inclination toward doing anything of the sort.
Although currently high profile, the incident of women and girls running to Syria to join the ISIL cause are not isolated.
Anti-Terrorism organisations estimate that 50 women from the United Kingdom have already fled to Syria to join the cause, and some 550 others from across Europe have done the same.
It is extremely unlikely that the girls were able to move freely by themselves, but that they are being aided and moved about by the ISIL network, which clearly favours the route via Turkey.
