London police fear 3 missing girls left to join ISIL

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Scotland Yard said Friday that it fears that three missing teenage girls are en route to Syria through Turkey to join the terrorist group the Islamic State. It appealed through social media to try to persuade them to return home before they cross the border.

Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and an unnamed 15-year-old, all from London's Bethnal Green Academy, flew during their midterm break from London's Gatwick Airport to Istanbul on Tuesday, according to London Metro Police.

The third girl is not being named at the request of her family. Shamima is possibly traveling under the name of Aklima Begum, police said.

The girls, shown on airport surveillance video, are friends with a fourth student who went to Syria in December.

Police commander Richard Walton, of Scotland Yard's counterterrorism unit, said the three — described as "straight-A students" and "normal girls" — were last seen Tuesday when they gave their families "plausible reasons" to be out for the day.

They then boarded a Turkish Airlines flight, which landed in Turkey that evening.

"We are reaching out to the girls using the Turkish media and social media in the hope that Shamima, Kadiza and their friend hear our messages, hear our concerns for their safety and have the courage to return now, back to their families who are so worried about them," Walton said.

If police can locate the girls while they are stuck in Turkey, he said, "there is a possibility we can bring them home to their families."

Walton said police are concerned about the number of girls and young women who have already left or intend to travel to the part of Syria controlled by the Islamic State.

"It is an extremely dangerous place and we have seen reports of what life is like for them, how restricted their lives become," he said. "It is not uncommon for girls or women to be prevented from being allowed out of their houses or if allowed out, only when accompanied by a guardian."

Walton said that if the girls made it into Syria, they might not be able to leave if they change their minds.

"The choice of returning home from Syria is often taken away from those under the control of Islamic State, leaving their families in the U.K. devastated and with very few options to secure their safe return," he said.

Last year, twin teenage sisters Zahra and Salma Halane from Manchester turned up later in Syria as "jihadi brides," The Telegraph reported. They later were widowed when their husbands died while fighting for the Islamic State.

The newspaper says one of the sisters recently posted photos from Syria showing her completing self-defense training with AK-47s and handguns.

In another case, police prevented a 15-year-old from joining the Islamic State by stopping her flight to Turkey on the runway at Heathrow.