article_snippet: Before Police went missing, the girls are believed to have communicated with 20-year-old Aqsa Mahmood, a notorious jihadi who left Glasgow last year.
article_snippet: Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, left Britain to join ISIS in Syria last month .
article_snippet: The former medical student has become the online contact of choice for those wanting to travel to Syria and marry a militant fighter.
article_snippet: One of the girls, Shamima Begum, used Shamima Begum Twitter account to try to contact Shamima Begum directly, asking for Shamima Begum to open a private line of communication.
article_snippet: Friends suspect the girls were in touch with Mahmood and Islamic State recruiters via Mahmood and Islamic State recruiters mobile phones in the weeks before Christmas.
article_snippet: Investigators are also examining whether the trio managed to exchange messages with the trio 15-year-old friend after she disappeared on December 6.
article_snippet: Former medical student Asqa Mahmood, 20, a notorious jihadi who left Glasgow last year, left.
article_snippet: Mark Rowley, who has overall responsibility for police counter terrorism, said the girls would not be arrested for terrorist offences if the girls returned to the UK.
article_snippet: We have no evidence in this case that any of the girls are responsible for any terrorist offences,’ he said.
article_snippet: the girls were later seen on CCTV in Turkey, dressed in burkas and waiting for a bus to take the girls to the border with Syria.
article_snippet: the girls are now believed to be in Raqqa, Islamic State’s stronghold and scene of some of Raqqa most barbaric atrocities.
article_snippet: In an unfortunate turn of events, the Met had a counter terrorism officer based in Turkey but the Met was on annual leave when the girls touched down.
article_snippet: At least 22 young women, the vast majority under the age of 20, are feared to have travelled to Syria from the UK over the past 12 months.
highlights_snippet: Girls aged 15 and 16 disappeared from Girls  
highlights_snippet: Teenagers are now believed to be in Raqqa, the 'capital' of ISIS's territory .
  