Nine British children feared to have travelled to Syria with their mothers to join extremists

 
Mariya Iqbal, five, and Ismaeel Iqbal, three, who are feared to be in Syria with their three other siblings and mother Sugra Dawood (Picture: Khan Solicitors/PA)
Tom Marshall15 June 2015

Three British sisters are feared to have travelled to war-torn Syria with their nine children, aged as young as three.

Twelve members of the Dawood family, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, are feared to have travelled to join one of their relatives in the country, who is understood to be fighting for extremists.

Sisters Khadija Dawood, 30, Sugra Dawood, 34, and Zohra Dawood, 33, left Britain on May 28 to go on an Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, according to a lawyer acting for the fathers of the missing children.

Lawyer Balaal Khan said the fathers "are concerned that their children's lives are in danger".

He added: "The fathers are distraught, they feel helpless and they don't now what to do. They want the children out of harm's way."

Mr Khan said the sisters travelled with their nine children and were supposed to return to the UK on June 11. Seven of the children are aged between three and eight, with the other two aged 14 and 15.

Khadiga Bibi Dawood with one of her two children, five-year-old Muhammad Haseeb (Picture: Khan Solicitors/PA)
Khan Solicitors/PA

It is believed the group boarded a flight from Madina in Saudi Arabia to Istanbul in Turkey on June 9 - a commonly used route into Syria.

"One of the possibilities is they travelled to Turkey to travel to Syria," Mr Khan said.

"The suspicion, and main concern, is that the women have taken their children to Syria."

The news emerged as calls mounted for more to be done to tackle radicalisation of teenagers online after 17-year-old Talha Asmal was reported to have become Britain's youngest ever suicide bomber.

Zohra Dawood with one of her daughters, five-year-old Nurah Binte Zubair (Picture: Khan Solicitors/PA)
Khan Solicitors/PA

It was also revealed today that Thomas Evans, a Muslim convert from Buckinghamshire, is believed to have died fighting in Kenya fighting for extremist group Al Shabaab.

A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman confirmed they have received a missing persons report concerning the Dawood family.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Foster said: "We are extremely concerned for the safety of the family and would urge anyone with information to come forward and speak to us."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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