London Teens 'Married' To Syria IS Miliants

Two of the three east London schoolgirls who fled to Syria to join Islamic State have been married to militants in the terrorist group, their families have said.

Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, fled Britain in February.

The lawyer representing their families has confirmed the marriages of two of the girls.

Tasnime Akunjee would not say which of the girls had married and said he had no information about the status of the third girl.

But he confirmed the two girls had contacted their parents to say they had been married to what they called "approved" IS men in their 20s in ceremonies approved by IS authorities.

Mr Akunjee said the news had dashed any hopes the families may have had that their daughters might return.

He added: "It has caused a lot of distress.

"It entrenches their lives in Syria, rather than in Britain.

"It erodes significantly hopes that they will come back."

The girls, who attended Bethnal Green Academy before they ran away, are understood to be living separately in the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

This has led Mr Ankujee to discount a video released online which claimed to show the three girls walking around the city carrying automatic rifles.

He said that, at the time the video was shot, two of the girls were known to be married and separated from their east London friends.

He added: "Those who are married are under the aegis of their husbands and are unlikely to be under the aegis of some woman leader."