Missing Syria schoolgirls: Parents discover checklist for journey in girl's bedroom
Checklist includes flights to Turkey, underwear, socks, an epilator and a phone
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Your support makes all the difference.The parents of one of the three London schoolgirls feared to have fled the country in order to join Isis in Syria have discovered a handwritten list detailing the items the girls needed in order to make their trip.
Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, went missing after boarding a flight to Turkey on 17 February. They are believed to have now crossed the border into Syria and to be staying in the extremist stronghold of Raqqa.
The list, seen by the Guardian, includes the girls’ plane tickets to Turkey recorded at just over £1,000, an epilator at £50, a phone at £75, underwear for two people at £12, socks at £4 and other items such as make-up and boots, leading to what is thought to be a total of £2,190.
The list appears to have been written on a page from a diary planner and has two sets of handwriting on it, with the initials of one of the girls’ first names next to each item. The tickets to Turkey have been written down using the French word for ticket.
The list was found by one of the families when they went through their daughter’s belongings after she went missing, and was handed to police.
The girls’ families told the Guardian last week they did not know how their children had raised the money to make their trip. The newspaper reports that this list appears to be in keeping with guidelines issued by the Islamic State (also known as Isis) for potential new recruits.
The girls, from Bethnal Green Academy in east London, are thought to have passed into Syria close to the Turkish border town of Kilis over the weekend.
Sky News sources told the broadcaster they are now “apparently in a house that is owned or controlled – or at least hosted by – a British girl who had been in contact with them over the internet, and had brought them through Turkey and into Syria.”
It is thought they were recorded by CCTV cameras at a bus station in Istanbul less than 24 hours after leaving the UK.
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