Three British teenagers who are suspected of traveling to Syria to join Islamist militants were spotted on camera in Turkey not long after they boarded a flight from London to Istanbul last month.
The missing girls, who are classmates, were seen on closed-circuit cameras at an Istanbul bus station on Feb. 18, CNN reported Sunday. Police said the girls got off the bus before it reached the final destination.
London’s Metropolitan Police said last week that they believe the girls — Shamima Begum, 15; Kadiza Sultana, 16; and Amira Abase, 15 — have already entered Syria. Before, their parents had publicly pleaded for them to come home, while British officials had encouraged Turkish media to urge them to return to the U.K.
Their disappearance has sparked tensions between the U.K. and Turkey, whose Deputy Prime Minister said last week it was “condemnable and shameful” that British authorities had allowed the girls to travel to Istanbul.
[CNN]
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