French Teen Girl Stopped on Way to Join Syria Terrorists

Local Editor

A 15-year-old French girl was in police custody Sunday after she disappeared from her family home in southern France, suspected of wanting to travel to Syria to join the extremist groups.

Assia Saidi was "found on Saturday night by her parents in a bar, near Marseille station, where she had been working for a few days," a source close to the investigation said.

Investigators discovered a Facebook page under a pseudonym which "unequivocally" showed she was planning "to leave France and wage "jihad"," according to prosecutors.

"That was the goal," the girl told LCI television, before admitting she had quickly changed her mind.

The case has made waves in France, where some 930 citizens or residents, including at least 60 women, are thought to be either actively engaged in extremist activities in Iraq and Syria or planning to go.
Assia is in police custody for stealing her parents' bank card.

Her mother told BFMTV: "We decided to go to Marseille. We looked for her all day ... she threw herself into our arms. We're so happy. Everyone hugged, cried, laughed."

"We so relieved, so happy that she has not gone abroad," the mother said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website