Mother who was feared to have fled Britain to join ISIS in Syria is charged with child abduction

• Zahera Tariq, 33, was taken into police custody by officers in London 
• On Tuesday Turkish authorities had detained the family-of-five
• Husband Yasair Mahmmood reported his family missing last week

A woman who was feared to have fled the UK in a bid to join ISIS in Syria has been charged with child abduction.

Zahera Tariq, 33, was taken into police custody by officers in Walthamstow, London this morning as part of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

On Tuesday Turkish authorities had detained the family-of-five and confirmed that they had not crossed the border into war-torn Syria.

+4

Zahera Tariq, 33, was taken into police custody by officers in London this morning as part of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. The family are pictured at London City Airport

+4

Detectives later found the family had been captured on CCTV at London City Airport prior to their flight to the Netherlands

Counter-terrorism officers launched an appeal for information about the family after her husband Yasair Mahmmood, 42, contacted police last week to report them missing.

They were believed to have flown from London City Airport to Amsterdam on August 25.

Detectives later found the family had been captured on CCTV at London City Airport prior to their flight to the Netherlands. 

Ms Tariq could be seen pushing a trolley with four large items of luggage. 

She will appear at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court later today.

+4

+4

Counter-terrorism officers launched an appeal for information about the family after her husband Yasair Mahmmood, right, contacted police last week to report them missing. Pictured left is Zahera Tariq

Ms Tariq was questioned by police after returning to Britain and held at Luton Airport on Thursday night. 

All of the children, who are aged between four and 12, were said to be 'safe and well' when the group was detained by Turkish authorities.

A private hearing was held in the Family Division of the High Court yesterday about the long-term futures of the children.

Mr Justice Cobb said detail of proceedings could not be reported but he said the youngsters were together and had been taken into foster care for the 'time being'. 

When she was detained in Turkey on Tuesday, Commander Richard Walton, from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'We had very real concerns that she may have been planning to travel with her children to Syria.' 

Several cases have emerged in which women and children from the UK are feared to have gone to parts of Syria controlled by the so-called Islamic State.

Scotland Yard said it believed more than 40 women and girls had travelled to Syria from Britain in the last year.