In March, a video surfaced that claimed to show the three teenagers preparing the cross the Turkish border into Syria the previous month. The footage purportedly was recorded February 19 in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, just north of Aleppo.
Days before they left for Turkey, at least one of the girls allegedly contacted a young woman,Aqsa Mahmood, who left her home in Scotland to travel to Syria in 2013 and is accused of trying to recruit others via social media.
She has posted tips for girls and young women wanting to travel to Syria to marry jihadis, as she did. Her blog also has links to advice posted by another jihad supporter, which recommends that those traveling to Syria seek to pack the essentials but not too much, since they may need to move often and at short notice, while remaining inconspicuous.