Missing Bristol girl, 15, 'may have self-radicalised online'
Missing Yusra Hussien: Family appeal over Syria case teenager
(about 3 hours later)
A teenage girl who is feared to be on her way to Syria may have become "self-radicalised" online, family friends have said.
The family of a missing 15-year-old girl who is feared to have travelled to Syria have made an appeal for her return.
Police said the 15-year-old, from the Easton area of Bristol, flew from Heathrow to Turkey last week with a girl, aged 17, from London.
Yusra Hussien, from Easton in Bristol, flew from Heathrow to Turkey last week with a 17-year-old girl from London, police said.
Family friends said the "grade A* student" had recently "viewed extremist material" on chat rooms and web forums.
Detectives said the priority was to find Yusra and "make sure she is safe".
Detectives said the priority was to find her and "make sure she is safe".
Her family have rejected claims she has become a "Jihadi bride" and said there was "no concrete evidence" of this.
The girl's parents reported her missing on 24 September, having last seen her at about 07:00 BST.
Yusra's mother, Safiya Hussien, said she loved and missed her daughter.
'Tied to mobile'
"We miss you so, so much. Please come home," she said.
They said their daughter left for school as usual but was not there when her father went to pick her up at 15:30 BST.
The family appealed to the media not to report on speculation about what had happened to Yusra.
Aunt Sucdi Ali said her niece was a "typical teenager" and added they "were not here to talk about ISIS" but to to talk about Yusra.
She said: "The point here is there is a teenage girl who is missing."
Another aunt, Ikram Mohammed, said Yusra was "missed and was not in trouble" and said the family "was not angry and just wanted her back home".
She was reported missing by her parents who last saw her at about 07:00 BST on on 24 September.
They said their daughter left for school as usual but was not there when her father went to pick her up at 15:30.
Police have been tracing the schoolgirl's movements from the moment she left her Easton home to her arrival in Istanbul.
Police have been tracing the schoolgirl's movements from the moment she left her Easton home to her arrival in Istanbul.
It is unclear how she met the 17-year-old girl from Lambeth in south London.
The Bristol teenager, who attends The City Academy, was described by friends as being "devoted to her education" and "an aspiring dentist".
But some said she had recently become "tied to her mobile phone and computer" after apparently looking at extremist material on the internet.
Labour councillor for Easton, Afzal Shah, said he understood it was "self-radicalisation as opposed to having anything to do with any institutions".
"There may possibly be other individuals involved but that's something the police are looking into," he said.
"There are so many forums and chat rooms on the internet, it is very easy to get led astray."
'Completely shocked'
He said he had spoken to her family and "nobody had any indication of it whatsoever".
"Her family are loving individuals who always put their children first. They are completely shocked," he added.
He said her parents had noticed she was "always on her phone and computer" but assumed it was normal teenage behaviour.
He said he would also be calling on the government for "clearer guidance" on children travelling abroad without parental consent.
Mr Shah said it was not clear how the girls funded their flights.
"But this also begs the question, how could a 15-year-old child be allowed to board a plane, just like that," he asked.
Avon and Somerset Police said it was respecting family wishes by not naming the Bristol girl, adding there would also be no "policing advantage" in doing so.
