Three Denver Teens Caught in Germany Trying to Head to ISIS in Syria

Part of the Growing Pool Drawn to Caliphate

It’s a story that’s happening across the Western world with increasing regularity. Today, three teenage girls from Denver, Colorado were caught at the Frankfurt, Germany airport en route to Syria, where they hoped to join ISIS.

The girls flew out of Denver and were aiming to get to Istanbul, increasingly a hub for Islamists looking to worm their way into ISIS territory. The parents of two of the girls found out and informed the US Consulate, which got the girls taken off their flight.

It would be a curious story if it were unique, but it’s not. There are reports emerging at an alarming rate of similar incidents across the Western world, with men and women, boys and girls, all drawn to the ISIS Caliphate, and are taking this route through Istanbul.

The number of people who are caught en route is no doubt dwarfed by the number who successfully find their way into ISIS ranks, and while Britain, for instance, estimates that five of its citizens a week are successfully joining ISIS, the reality is that they don’t know, for sure, because those people weren’t caught.

What we do know is that ISIS has become a huge fighting force, and in no small part because of how effectively it has attracted Westerners. The group’s recruitment has continued to escalate as the US and other nations are drawn into the war, and the group’s profile continues to increase.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.