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London schoolgirl who left to join Islamic State dead: lawyer

One of three schoolgirls who left east London past year to join so-called Islamic State (IS) is believed to have been killed in a Russian air strike in Syria, her family solicitor has said.

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This is three image combo of stills taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police in London on Monday Feb. 23, 2015, Kadiza Sultana, 16, left, Shamima Begum, 15, centre and and 15-year-old Amira Abase going through security at Gatwick airport, before they caught their flight to Turkey on Tuesday Feb 17, 2015.

ITV News reported Sultana has become disillusioned with life under IS and was planning to escape and return to Britain when she was killed.

Kadiza is understood to have married an American fighter of Somali origin but he was killed while fighting the Russian backed Syrian forces.

“There’s nothing worse than finding out your sibling or family member’s been killed and by all accounts she was a young girl with a very promising future – and it’s a great loss to us all really”. But at least we know she is in a better place.

Her family were informed of Kadiza’s death by other people in Raqqa. She contacted her family numerous times via telephone and expressed her concerns and her wish to return home. I feel scared.” Asked why, she replied: “If something goes wrong, that’s it. Over a year she had been talking about leaving.

Reports of Kadiza Sultana’s death were not officially confirmed. I will never be with you’.

Sultana abandoned her A-level studies after becoming radicalised online and fled the UK.

ITV News released excerpts of phone calls between Kadiza and her sister as they were trying to plan her escape. Ms Sultana’s husband was an American national of Somali origin who died late previous year.

Sultana, Shamima Begum and a third girl, who was not named at her family’s request left their east London homes and flew to Istanbul.

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Her family were communicating with her from their east London flat to discuss how she might leave Raqqa and cross the border into Turkey, where they hoped to be reunited with the former schoolgirl.

British teenager who joined IS 'killed by air strike in Syria'