2 Teens May Have Joined Islamic State in Syria: British Police

British police said today that they were investigating a report that two teenagers, who come from the same town as one of the 2005 London suicide bombers, may have joined Islamic State jihadists in Syria.

The two 17-year-olds from Dewsbury in northern England are believed to have boarded a flight from Manchester to Dalaman in southwest Turkey on March 31, the regional police force said in a statement.

"We are extremely concerned for the safety of these two boys," the statement said. "Our priority is for their safe return; their families are gravely worried about them and want them home."

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom said, "Syria is an extremely dangerous place and the public will be aware of the dangers these boys may face.

"The choice of returning home from Syria is often taken away from those that come under the control of Islamic State, leaving their families in the UK devastated and with very few options to secure their safe return," Milsom said.

British media reported that one of the teenagers is a relative of Hammaad Munshi, who is the grandson of a leading Islamic scholar in Dewsbury.

In 2008, Munshi became the youngest Briton ever to be found guilty of terror offences.

He was 16 when he was arrested in a police crackdown on an extremist cell and was found guilty of distributing detailed instructions online on how to make napalm, explosives, detonators and grenades.

Dewsbury was also the hometown of Mohammad Sidique Khan, the ringleader of four homegrown suicide bombers who carried out the July 7, 2005 bombings which killed 52 people on three Underground trains and a bus in London.

The news comes just days after six people were arrested leaving the seaport of Dover on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences.

Nine Britons were also arrested trying to cross over from Turkey to Syria last week.

Hundreds of Britons are believed to have joined the Islamic State group in Syria in recent months despite a new law that reinforces security checks at airports.