Missing UK sister who may be in Syria ‘makes contact’

Sisters Sugra, Zohra and Khadija Dawood went missing on 9 June

One of three Bradford sisters missing with their children has “made contact” with her family, indicating she may already be in Syria, police say.

West Yorkshire Police said it was “extremely concerned” for the group’s safety after receiving information that the woman may have crossed the border.

Khadija, Sugra and Zohra Dawood and their nine children aged three to 15 went missing over a week ago.

Their brother is understood to be fighting with extremists in Syria.

The group went missing after making a religious pilgrimage to Medina, Saudi Arabia.

It has also emerged that the mothers had no authorisation from education authorities to take their children out of school prior to the trip.

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.

‘Extremely concerned’

“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.”

The husbands of the three UK sisters made an emotional appeal on Tuesday, saying they “miss and love” them as they appealed for their return.

The group were last seen on 28 May in a hotel in the Saudi city of Medina.

BBC