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British mother found guilty of taking son to Syria to join Islamic State

Tareena Shakil has been found guilty of taking her toddler son to Syria to join so-called Islamic State, becoming the first British woman to return from the region to be convicted of the offence.

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British mother found guilty of taking son to Syria to join IS

Tareena Shakil Credit: West Midlands Police

Tareena Shakil has been found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of taking her toddler son to Syria to join Islamic State.

Ms Shakil has become the first British woman to return from the self-declared caliphate to be convicted of the offence.

During a two-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, the 26-year-old had denied the charges, claiming she only travelled to Syria because of a wish to live under the rule of sharia law.

However, the jury did not believe her claims after seeing tweets, messages and photographs, including images of the black flag of IS and passages calling on people to "take up arms".

Shakil had also posted of her wish to become a "martyr" on social media.

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