Police are hunting for a missing mother and her four children who are feared to be travelling to Syria, Scotland Yard said.
The woman and her children – aged four to 12 – are believed to have left the country on Tuesday via London City Airport on a flight to Amsterdam.
The woman, 33-year-old Zahera Tariq, was last seen earlier that day at her home in Waltham and has not been heard from since. A family member alerted police on Wednesday.
Commander Richard Walton, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said he was concerned for Ms Tariq and her children.
“Whilst we do have some concerns that Zahera may be thinking of travelling to Syria, there is no current information to suggest that she’s already travelled there,” he said.
The family left for Amsterdam and might be travelling on to Syria
“Her family are extremely worried about her and her three sons and daughter and we would urge anybody with information to contact us as soon as possible.”
If confirmed, it would be the latest case in which women and children from the UK are feared to have gone to parts of Syria controlled by the Islamic State.
The family have been captured on CCTV at the airport, with the children pictured wearing rucksacks as their mother pushes a trolley loaded with suitcases.
Police have described Ms Tariq as an Asian woman of medium build, approximately 5ft3ins tall, with long black hair.
Her children are: Muhammad 12, medium build, approximately 5ft tall; Amaar, 11, of skinny build; Safiyyah, a nine-year-old girl of skinny build and long black hair; and her youngest son Aadid, four.
Police said they are working with Dutch authorities and other international partners to locate the group.