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A handout photograph made available by the London Metropolitan Police Service on 20 February 2015 showing the three girls at Gatwick Airport, southern England.(Photo: London Metropolitan Police Service/EPA)
LONDON — The family of a Scottish woman suspected of encouraging three girls to join the Islamic State group have spoken of their "horror and anger" that she may have played a role in recruiting them, British media reported Sunday.
The three girls — Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15 — left London on Tuesday on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. They are believed to be trying to travel into Syria to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
The family of Amira, who was initially not named, revealed her identity and appealed for her return late Saturday.
USA TODAY
Families of Syria-bound teens beg them come home
One of the girls sent a tweet on Feb. 15 — two days before they left the British capital — to Aqsa Mahmood, who traveled to Syria in 2013 at age 20 to marry an Islamic State fighter after becoming radicalized, Sky News reported.
The message said: "Follow me so I can dm (direct message) you back."
A handout photo of Shamima Begum, issued by the London Metropolitan Police.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: London Metropolitan Police)
Addressing Mahmood in a statement, her family said: "You are a disgrace to your family and the people of Scotland, your actions are a perverted and evil distortion of Islam," Sky News reported. "You are killing your family every day with your actions, they are begging you to stop if you ever loved them."
The family said the British security services "have serious questions to answer."
Kadiza Sultana is one of the missing girls.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: London Metropolitan Police/EPA)
"Aqsa's social media has been monitored since she disappeared over a year ago, yet despite alleged contact between the girls and Aqsa, they failed to stop them from leaving the U.K. to Turkey, a staging post for Syria," they said, according to the BBC.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday that the situation was "deeply concerning" and that authorities would do everything they can to help the girls.
"But it does make a broader point, which is the fight against Islamist extremist terror is not just one that we can wage by the police and border control," he said.
On Saturday, the girls' families appealed to them to come home.
"Please come home Amira, everyone is missing you," her family said in a statement issued through Scotland Yard. " You are strong, smart, beautiful and we are hoping you will make the right decision.
"We miss you more that you can imagine. We are worried and we want you to think about what you have left behind.You had bright future, so please return home."
USA TODAY
London police fear 3 missing girls left to join ISIL
"Please, if you hear this message, get in touch and let us know you are safe," the family of 15-year-old Shamima Begum said in a statement. "We want you home with us. You belong at home with us.
"Syria is a dangerous place and we don't want you to go there. Get in touch with the police and they will help to bring you home. You are not in any trouble."
The family of 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana issued a similar appeal.
Missing 15-year-old Amira Abase.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: London Metropolitan Police)
"In your absence, we, as a family, are feeling completely distressed and cannot make sense of why you left home," the Sultana family said. "We are sending you our heartfelt love, and continue to pray that you along with your friends safely return to us, or at least contact us to let us know you are okay.
"We miss you terribly, especially Mum, and things have not been the same without you."
As many as 50 British women are believed to have gone to join the Islamic State as "jihadi brides," the BBC reported.
Last year, twin teenage sisters Zahra and Salma Halane from Manchester turned up later in Syria as "jihadi brides," The Telegraph reported.
They later were widowed when their husbands died while fighting for ISIL. The newspaper says one of the sisters recently posted photos from Syria showing her completing self-defense training with AK-47s and handguns.
In another case, police prevented a 15-year-old from joining the Islamic State by stopping her flight to Turkey on the runway at Heathrow.
Contributing: Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.
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