Banned from UK... the Scots schoolgirl who ran off to join ISIS
SCOTS jihadi schoolgirl Aqsa Mahmood has been stripped of her citizenship and banned from Britain.
She is among 150 extremists unable to enter the country amid fears of an influx of militants from war-torn Syria.
Intelligence chiefs believe around 850 British jihadists went to join IS in Syria and Iraq, but the group’s collapse has triggered a desperate bid to return home.
Many were trained in the use of explosives and firearms as they took part in IS’s bloody rampage and MI5 believes blocking their re-entry is the only way to prevent a new wave of deadly attacks.
Privately-educated Mahmood left her home in Glasgow and travelled to Syria to join IS in 2013 after being radicalised online.
She became a prolific spreader of IS propaganda online and is suspected of helping schoolgirls Amira Abase, Shamima Begum and Kadiza Sultana, from Bethnal Green, London, reach Syria.
Last month, it was claimed the 23-year-old, who married an IS fighter, was in Manbij, 75 miles from the terror group’s former de-facto capital Raqqa.
She is said to have set up home in an area known as ‘Little Britain’, where notorious jihadist propagandist, Sally Jones, known as the ‘White Widow’, also lived.
Figures released last year show that 72 people were subject to a deprivation order – removing their right to a British passport – between 2011 and 2015.
Another 50 are thought to have had their citizenship removed in 2016 and this year, bringing the total to 122. Security sources say another 30 have been stripped of passports since March.
They include fighters and socalled ‘jihadi brides’, such as former Glasgow Caledonian University student Mahmood.
They are all dual nationals, as under UN rules, ministers cannot take away citizenship if it would leave a suspect stateless.
It is understood Mahmood, who has dual British and Pakistani nationality through her father Muzaffar, 52, was among the first to be banned from the UK.
However, the move was criticised by human rights lawyer, Aamer Anwar, who acts for her family.
He said: ‘The Government is trying to wash their hands of these people and make them a problem for the Iraqi or Syrian people, but not only is that morally and legally wrong, it could simply store up trouble for the future.
‘If those with British citizenship who have been engaged in terrorism want to leave Syria, then the right thing is to allow them to come back and if there’s evidence of wrong-doing then they should stand trial.’
He claimed British intelligence could glean vital information on those who recruit and traffic potential fighters for IS by interogating those returning to the UK.
He said: ‘We know from Aqsa Mahmood’s case and others that there are those in this country who run this as a business, in terms of recruitment and grooming of girls and boys to go out.’
Mr Anwar said Mahmood’s whereabouts were unclear as her family have had no contact from her in over a year.
He added: ‘I spoke to Aqsa’s family this week. They remain distraught and heartbroken.’
Last month, Richard Walton, former head of counterterrorism at Scotland Yard, said: ‘Citizenship of the UK is not an absolute right, nor should it be.’
Mahmood’s family, who declined to comment yesterday, have previously claimed their daughter was groomed by Adeel Ulhaq.
Last year, Ulhaq was jailed for six years for recruiting Aseel Muthana, from Cardiff, to IS and helping him travel to Syria.
His trial at the Old Bailey heard he also radicalised Mahmood while she was still a schoolgirl.