New images of three teenage girls thought to have travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) terror group have emerged.
Scotland Yard said officers believe Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15 and Kadiza Sultana, 16, crossed the border into the war-torn nation after they boarded a Turkish Airlines flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul on February 17.
CCTV pictures aired on Turkish television station A Haber, appear to show three girls entering a bus station in Istanbul on the same evening.
They can be seen leaving a part of the station in the early hours of the next morning, February 18, along with other passengers and walking along snow-covered pavements into a busy departure lounge.
In the footage, the girls are shown wrapped up in heavy winter jackets, two with furry hoods pulled up, and carrying packed sports bags and holdalls.
The trio’s families in Britain have made emotional pleas for them to return home, while Turkey’s ambassador and the chief executive of the country’s national airline have been called to give evidence before MPs over the disappearances.
Last week, David Cameron indicated security arrangements at the border and on planes could be tightened to prevent young people travelling to join the extremist group and has asked Home Secretary Theresa May and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to examine “all the protocols we have in place”.
