One of three sisters believed to
have taken their children to Syria "didn't want her daughters to grow up
in England", a friend of hers has said.
The woman, who asked not
to be named, told the BBC Zohra Dawood "didn't like the UK" and thought
England was becoming "more like America".
Ms Dawood and her sisters Khadija and Sugra, all from Bradford, went missing along with their nine children.
Earlier an Islamic State (IS) smuggler said they had now reached Syria.
Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking at a security conference in Slovakia, warned of the dangers posed by those who "quietly condone" Islamic State militants' extremist ideology.
The
friend of Zohra Dawood, who wanted to remain anonymous because she said
she feared for her life, said the mother told her: "I don't want my
children living in this society."
The friend added: "She says she wants to live in Saudi Arabia because she didn't like the UK."
'Happy children'
Asked
if she challenged Zohra over her views, the friend said: "No because by
then Zohra completely ignored us. She didn't talk to anyone. I don't
know what she was thinking."
The friend also appealed for the return of the children.
"Why has she taken them into a war zone? They were perfectly happy children. We're all worried for the children," she said.
The
women's brother is understood to be fighting with extremists in Syria.
When asked who convinced Zohra to go to Syria, the friend said: "I think
her brother - and she convinced her sisters to do the same to help
their brother out."
The friend also said she was "shocked" to hear Sugra's son Ibrahim Iqbal, 14, say: "I'm going to Syria to fight." The sisters and their children went missing after travelling to Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage on 28 May.
Instead of flying home as their families expected, the group went missing and apparently flew to Turkey.
On Tuesday, two of their husbands made an emotional appeal for them to return.
But the IS smuggler told BBC Middle East correspondent Paul Wood they then split into two groups to cross the border into Syria.
He said the first group went early on Wednesday and the second on Thursday.
The
information fits with the news that Zohra sent a message to her family
that she was inside Syria - but did not say exactly where. It is believed the group missed a previous flight to Saudi Arabia in March after being questioned by security officials.
The North East Counter Terrorism Unit said it was "continuing to make
extensive enquiries" in order to try to bring the women and children
home.
Prayers were said for the family at their local mosque in Bradford on Friday.
In his speech earlier, Mr Cameron highlighted the role families and communities can play in countering radicalisation.
He
said there were some members of the Muslim community who "don't go as
far as advocating violence" but who "buy into some of these prejudices"
of Islamist extremist ideology.
Mr Cameron said this "paves the way for young people to turn simmering prejudice into murderous intent".
The smugglers network
By Paul Wood, BBC Middle East correspondent
Every armed group in Syria has its own network of smugglers - and the so-called Islamic State is no different.
They move people - and sometimes cash and weapons - across the border for profit and for the cause.
Like
all smugglers, IS uses a network of safe houses along the border,
though the area of border open to them has been shrinking as they lose
territory to a Kurdish military advance, backed by US airstrikes.
Like all smugglers, IS uses a network of safe houses along the
border, though the area of border open to them has been shrinking as
they lose territory to a Kurdish military advance, backed by US
airstrikes.
The Turkish security forces occasionally shoot, and
kill, people crossing the border illegally, but most crossings are
uneventful with many smugglers coming to "an arrangement" with the
Turkish border guards.
Once inside Islamic State territory, however, the women and their children will not be allowed to leave.
I spoke to an activist who runs a secret network trying to get disenchanted jihadis out of the so-called caliphate.
He told me some 400 had been killed trying to leave - and that 200 women were under house arrest.
Three missing Bradford sisters
feared to be trying to get to Syria with their nine children were
removed from an earlier flight, the BBC understands.
Sources said
Khadija, Sugra and Zohra Dawood and their children were escorted off a
flight from Manchester to Saudi Arabia in March for security checks.
However, they were subsequently cleared to travel and rebooked.
Earlier, police revealed one of the women has "made contact" with family, indicating she may already be in Syria.
Their
women's brother, Ahmed Dawood, is understood to be fighting with
extremists in the country, parts of which are controlled by Islamic
State militants.
He is believed to have been there for a year.
Missed flight
The
Dawood sisters and their children were originally booked to fly from
Manchester to Mecca and Medina for a religious pilgrimage on 19 March.
The
flights were arranged via a Bradford travel agent and a company in
London. The BBC has seen documents confirming the intended travel.
However,
the BBC understands from multiple sources that the extended family were
taken off the flight by security officials before it departed.
Missing children
Ismaeel Iqbal, three
Mariya Iqbal, five
Muhammad Haseeb, five
Nurah Binte Zubair, five
Maryam Siddiqui, seven
Haafiyah Binte Zubair, eight
Zaynab Iqbal, eight
Ibrahim Iqbal, 14
Junaid Ahmed Iqbal, 15
Missing mothers
Khadija Dawood, 30
Sugra Dawood, 34
Zohra Dawood, 33
Police have special powers at airports to stop and question travellers on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
The
BBC has also spoken to the taxi firm which collected the party from the
airport, who confirmed they were told the women and children returned
home without catching the flight.
Days later, the family rebooked
flights, telling their travel agent they had cleared the matter up after
discussions with the police.
However. because of the size of
the party and the Easter holidays, the women were unable to book another
departure date until May.
They eventually left Manchester Airport on 28 May and were due to
stay in Saudi Arabia until 11 June. However, they left on 9 June and
took a flight to Istanbul instead.
The BBC understands they told
the manager of their accommodation on 9 June that they intended to
travel to Mecca before returning to the UK, and left taking the keys to
their rooms.
In a statement to the BBC, the North East Counter
Terrorism Unit said: "The North East CTU can confirm that the same group
were stopped and subject of security checks earlier this year.
Sister 'made contact'
"As
a result, enquiries revealed that the visit was a religious pilgrimage
to Saudi Arabia and the group were not prevented from travelling.
However the process of conducting those enquiries caused the group to
miss the flight.
"On a daily basis a number of people are subject to security checks prior to boarding flights.
"It is worth repeating that the party were not legally prevented from travelling."
West
Yorkshire Police says it is "extremely concerned" for the group's
safety after receiving information that at least one of the women may
have crossed the border into Syria - parts of which are controlled by
Islamic State militants.
Timeline of the disappearance
Pre-June 2014: The sisters' brother travels to Syria to fight with extremists
19 March 2015: Family attempt to leave the UK but are removed from their flight before it departs
28 May: Family travel from Bradford to Saudi Arabian city of Medina on pilgrimage
8 June: Fathers' last conversation with their children
9 June: Mothers and seven of the nine
children thought to have boarded flight to Istanbul in Turkey - a
commonly-used route into Syria
11 June: Family had been expected to return to UK. Their disappearance is reported to the police
17 June: Police say one of the women
"made contact" with their family, and there are indications the group
may have crossed the border into Syria
Assistant
Chief Constable Russ Foster said: "We have received information that
contact has been made with the family in the UK which suggests one of
the missing adults may be in Syria.
"Contact has been made by one
of the missing women and there is an indication that they may have
already crossed the border into Syria but this is uncorroborated."
It has also emerged that the mothers had no authorisation from
education authorities to take their children out of school prior to the
trip.
Emotional appeal
The husbands of two of the sisters made an emotional appeal on Tuesday, saying they "miss and love" them as they appealed for their return.
They said they last spoke to their children on 8 June.
West
Yorkshire Police has been working with the extended Dawood family and
the Turkish authorities to try to establish the groups whereabouts.
They
said anyone who is concerned that a family member may be contemplating
travelling to Syria should contact police and partners via the free
phone Anti-Terrorist Hotline number on 0800 789 321.
