U.S. Girls Stopped En Route to Syria

Radical groups in Syria aren’t just recruiting adult Westerners, they also are reaching the youth. According to law enforcement, three unidentified American girls en route to Syria were tracked down by the FBI and returned home. The girls—two sisters, age 17 and 15, of Somali origin, and their 16-year-old friend, whose roots are in Sudan—are from suburban Denver, and were on their way to join militant groups “to fulfill what they believe is some vision that has been put out on a slick media campaign” by radical groups in Syria, such as ISIS. The teenagers were said to have stolen about $2,000 from their parents before flying to Germany. They had contacts in Germany, but were stopped in Frankfurt and sent back to the United States after a source close to them alerted authorities. Police said they were checking evidence, including the girls’ computers.