S. African girl caught trying to join the Islamic State

Demonstrators denounce the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in front of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2014. South African police on April 5, 2015 arrested a 15-year-old girl as she tried to leave the country to join ISIS, also known as the Islamic State. FILE PHOTO |

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • She was found on a British Airways flight bound for Johannesburg later that day.

  • The girl was reportedly heading for Turkey, where she was allegedly planning to cross the border into Syria.

  • Investigators found evidence in the girl's room linking her to recruiters for IS, jihadists who have captured swathes of Syria and Iraq and who have attracted hundreds of foreign fighters.

JOHANNESBURG

A 15-year-old South African girl was on Sunday pulled from a flight moments before trying to leave the country to join the Islamic State jihadists, state security said.

"We can confirm that she was planning to leave the country with the intention of joining IS and had been actively engaged with social media networks," State Security Minister David Mahlobo told local daily, The Star.

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The girl was reported missing by her grandparents Sunday morning when she disappeared from her Cape Town home.

DESTINATION TURKEY

She was found on a British Airways flight bound for Johannesburg later that day.

The girl was reportedly heading for Turkey, where she was allegedly planning to cross the border into Syria.

According to local reports, investigators found evidence in the girl's room linking her to recruiters for IS, jihadists who have captured swathes of Syria and Iraq and who have attracted hundreds of foreign fighters.

"An investigation is under way as to how far this network goes, whether there is a cell in the country, and what the methods of recruiting and funding are," Mahlobo told The Star.

SUSPECT RELEASED

"We cannot allow South Africa to be used as a recruitment space."

The girl was released into the care of her family after being questioned.

In February, the United Nations Security Council warned South Africa against terror groups that may use the country as an operational base.

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