Walthamstow mother and children 'believed to be Syria-bound'
- Published
CCTV images of the family at London City Airport have been released, as Dan Johnson reports
Police believe a missing mother and her four children from London may be travelling to Syria.
Zahera Tariq, 33, was last seen in Walthamstow on Tuesday and is thought to have left the country via London City Airport.
Ms Tariq and her four children were reported missing by a family member the next day, the Met Police said.
CCTV images of the family prior to their departure to Amsterdam have been released.
Neighbour Khalil Muhammadi described the missing children as smiley and chatty
Commander Richard Walton, of the Met's counter-terrorism command, said relatives were "extremely worried".
However, he said there was "no current information" to suggest Ms Tariq had already reached Syria.
Family descriptions, from police
- Zahera Tariq is Asian, of medium build, approximately 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, with long black hair
- Her eldest son, Muhammad, is 12 years old, of medium build, about 5ft (1.5m) tall and has medium-length black hair
- Her second son, Amaar, is 11 years old, with a slim build and medium-length black hair
- Her daughter, Safiyyah, is nine years old, of slim build and has long black hair
- Youngest son Aadid is four years old and has black hair
Doctor Usama Hasan from the counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation said the so-called Islamic State, which operates in Syria, was known to persuade vulnerable people their life would be better with them.
He said: "They promise them this kind of utopia, and they do have lots of money, and they do look after westerners.
"The second aspect is...we spend far too much time complaining about Britain's problems as though it's some kind of broken disastrous country, and we play into the extremist narrative that somehow Britain is a corrupt and evil place to live, and that IS is the perfect place to live."
'Very shocking'
One of the family's neighbours, Khalil Muhaammadi, said he was "very surprised" to learn the family had gone missing.
He said: "It's very, very shocking. They were a normal, working family. Very nice people. I'm very surprised, it shouldn't happen to this family."
He said the children were "very chatty and smiley" and the girl was "very clever".
Scotland Yard believes more than 40 women and girls have travelled to Syria from Britain in the last year.
Earlier this summer a family of 12 from Luton went missing and said they were "safer than ever", according to a statement said to be released on their behalf.
Separately, three Bethnal Green Academy pupils, Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, fled Britain in February to join the militant group and in June three sisters reportedly took their nine children to Syria.
- Published29 August 2015
- Published4 July 2015
