Two French schoolboys have travelled to Syria to become al Qaeda fighters, it emerged on Saturday.
The 15-year-olds from Toulouse are believed to be the youngest ever jihadists to emerge from a country increasingly associated with Islamic radicalism.
It comes after two British men were arrested in connection with Syria-related terror offences.
Yusuf Sawar and Mohammed Ahmed, both 21, from Handsworth, Birmingham, have been charged with planning and travelling to Syria for terrorism.
The French boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did not turn up for school on January 6 – instead using a family credit card to fly to the Middle East.
One of the boy's father launched an appeal for their return, saying his son had been lured into extremism on the internet.
He told La Depeche [sic] newspaper: "From the start of December, my son was brainwashed online. » | Peter Allen, Paris | Saturday, January 18, 2014
LA DÉPÊCHE: Français et jihadistes | » | Jean-Pierre Bédéï | samedi 18 janvier 2014
