US girls make possible bid to join militants
DENVER - Three teenage girls from Colorado being investigated for possibly trying to join Islamic State militants in Syria aren't radicalized jihadis but rather victims of an online predator, a school official said Wednesday.
At least one of the girls was communicating with someone online who encouraged the three to travel to Syria, said Tustin Amole, a spokeswoman for suburban Denver's Cherry Creek School District where the girls attend high school. The three were detained at an airport in Germany before being sent home over the weekend and returned to their parents.
"There's no indication they had been radicalized in a way that they wanted to fight for ISIS," Amole said, adding that the students had no prior problems aside from unexcused absences on Friday. He did not elaborate.
They did not return to school Wednesday. "Our biggest concern is for the safety and well-being of these girls," Amole said.
