Shamima Begum

A former schoolfriend of Shamima Begum, the British woman who left London as a teenager to join Islamic State, has been arrested in connection with a suspected terrorism offence, according to reporting by The Observer. The arrest renews attention on the Bethnal Green academy group's case and on how UK authorities handle returnees and associates.

A London schoolgirl who recruited Shamima Begum to join Isis is reported to have been found alive after an arrest connected to a terror plot. The woman, previously believed dead, was said to have played a key role in radicalising Begum before her departure to Syria in 2015 as one of the Bethnal Green schoolgirls. Details of the arrest and the alleged plot have not been fully confirmed.

Reports say a British woman who joined ISIS and is described as having recruited Shamima Begum has been found alive in Syria. Begum, who left London as a teenager to join the group, is a well-known and controversial figure in the UK, so news touching on her story draws attention. The headline has been picked up by UK outlets, though the snippets provided contain only the headline itself, so details of who the woman is or how she was found are not clear from the evidence.