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Nawal Msaad, 26, was arrested last Thursday at Heathrow airport as she prepared to board a plane to Istanbul in Turkey.

She was charged later that day suspected of supplying money to fund terrorism activity.

The university student, from Holloway, north London, appeared at Westminster Magstrates Court with co-accused Amal Elwahabi, 27, who was arrested the same day.

The court heard how the pair had tried to send money to a suspected British terrorists taking part in the Syrian conflict.

Msaad was caught with 20,000 euros in her underwear wrapped in cling film when the country terrorism team unit detained her, the court heard.

She was apprehended by the enforcers at 9.20am on Thursday, while Elwahabi was arrested at her house in Willesden, north west London at 2.26pm.

Both defendants said nothing in court but for confirming their names, addresses and date of birth.

Neither gave a plea.

The two women, both of Moroccan descent, will now appear at the Old Bailey on January 31.

The duo are the first British women to be charged with terrorism offences related the Syrian conflict.

Police have revealed that girls as young as 17 have been arrested at UK airports linked to terrorist activity.

Two 17-year-old girls were detained at Heathrow last month without charge as they tried to board a flight to Istanbul.

The head of Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command, Richard Walton, said a "shocking" number of teenagers are trying to join jihadist fighting in the nation.

Mr Walton said: “We’ve had a number of teenagers both from London and nationally who’ve been attempting to go to Syria. That’s boys and girls, unfortunately.

“It’s not just the odd one. It’s shocking that they are such young people.”

Earlier this week, a deserter from an extremist group in Syria revealed that British fighters are going to Syria to train and return to fight on home soil.

The former jihad fighter said: "The British, French and American mujahideen [holy warriors] in the room started talking about places that they wanted to bomb or explode themselves in Europe and the United States."