15-year-old Hilversum girl picked up in Dusseldorf on way to Syria

A 15-year-old girl from Hilversum reported missing last week was picked up at Dusseldorf airport on her way to Syria, local paper Gooi en Eemlander reports.

Moezdalifa El Adoui left a message for her parents saying she had gone to Syria. There she intended to get married and ‘as a good Muslim, join in the struggle’, the paper says.  

Moezdalifa is currently being questioned by police. ‘We want to know exactly what happened and if a criminal offence has been committed,’ a spokesman said.

Abou Dhar from the Hilversum organisation World Wide Relief told the paper the foundation has started a campaign warning parents not to give their children passports on a whim. If necessary, parents should also take away their phones, Dhar said.

Religious

The director of her school told RTV Noord-Holland teachers had been concerned about her religious fervour.

In January a man aged 20 and a 17-year-old girl from The Hague were arrested on suspicion of helping a 15-year-old girl travel to Syria. Police managed to stop the girl before she got on a plane for the civil war-torn country after friends warned them about the plan.

In May 2013, a tip-off from the Dutch security service AIVD led police to stop a 16-year-old girl leaving the country to fight in Syria.

Investigation

At least 10 people are under investigation in a major criminal probe into recruiting young Muslims in The Hague to fight abroad, Nos television said at the weekend.

Last week, one important suspect was picked up, sources told the broadcaster. The police say it is difficult to break up the network because evidence is hard to find and the suspects know they are being followed.

A large percentage of Dutch youngsters who have gone to Syria come from The Hague.

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