Teenaged girl held for terror offence in United Kingdom

British police have arrested a 15-year-old girl in east London on suspicion of committing a terror offence.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command arrested the teenager on allegations of preparation of terrorism under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, the Met Police said. 

The girl has been taken into custody for questioning at a central London police station.

The arrest comes even as it emerged that a Bangladeshi-origin family of 12 who went missing while on a trip to Dhaka have contacted UK relatives saying they are in war-torn Syria. 

Bedfordshire Police said it had yet to confirm the <g data-gr-id="16">information</g> but enquiries were ongoing.

Reports indicate that the family’s house in Luton, north of London, had been previously raided and a family member stopped at Heathrow airport the day before they departed.

The woman, believed to be 21-year-old <g data-gr-id="21">Rajia</g> Khanom, was stopped while the family was at the airport on April 9 because she was suspected of trying to travel to Syria. However, she was not arrested, but a search then took place at the home of the missing grandparents, also thought to be the home of other family members.