British teenagers ‘on the run’ from Islamic State

Three British jihadi brides are now on the run from the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq, according to a source in the terrorist-held city of Mosul.

(Left to right) Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum disappeared from their homes in east London in February. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

The girls, thought to be aged about 16, were married off to IS militants but have since been reported missing, with the terror group now “thoroughly searching for them” after their escape.

The exact identity of the girls and their fate is not known.

News of their escape came as it emerged David Cameron will announce plans to fast-track new powers to tackle radicalisation to confront “head-on the poisonous Islamist extremist ideology”.

The Prime Minister is expected to set out his intention to include a new counter-extremism bill in his Queen’s Speech later this month.

Planned measures include introducing new orders to ban extremist organisations and restrict people who seek to radicalise youngsters.

Reports suggest about 600 people from the UK have gone to join IS in Syria and Iraq, including young women.

The information on the girls could not be verified. It was released on the Facebook page of Mosul Eye, who purports to be a blogger in Iraq, and set up the page “to communicate what’s happening in Mosul to the rest of the world, minute by minute from an independent historian inside Mosul”.

He opposes Isil, as IS is also known, and remains anonymous, writing in detail in English and Arabic about the inner workings of the group, its execution of civilians and casualties suffered from coalition air-strikes.

On 2 May, Mosul Eye posted: “Three girls, (Foreigners – British) married to Isil militants, reported missing, and Isil announced to all its checkpoints to search for them. It is believed that those girls have escaped.”

In a later post he added: “The latest info I got on them is they are still on the run, but still in Mosul, and Isil is thoroughly searching for them and hasn’t captured them yet.

“They are Brits, not immigrants, and they are very young teens (around 16 years old). That’s all I have about them for now.”

Three British schoolgirls from the Bethnal Green Academy, Shamima Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, disappeared from their homes in east London in February and flew to Turkey, before crossing the border into war-torn Syria.

It is understood they were following another 15-year-old girl who travelled there in December.

In March a high court judge confiscated the passports of four other pupils at the school after concerns were raised by Tower Hamlets Council.

In earlier postings, Mosul Eye warns of IS carrying out mass searches of homes, looking for laptops, mobile phones, tablets and other devices, warning: “Please delete all your browsing history from anything related to politics, ISI, [Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency] adult content, music, movies, pro-government pages.

“Please spread this around. We might go MIA for a few days until this is over.”

IS is reportedly unpopular with much of the local population and appears to be cranking up its authority in the city as its losses mount.