Tareena Shakil: British woman who took toddler to Syria sentenced to six years in jail for joining Isis

Tareena Shakil is thought to be the first British woman convicted of terrorism offences after returning from Syria

Tareena Shakil (PA)

A British mother has been sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of taking her toddler to join Isis in Syria.

Tareena Shakil, 26, is thought to be the first British woman convicted of terrorism offences after returning from Syria.

She was also found guilty of encouraging acts of terror on social media.

A deleted picture on Shakil's phone showing her with an AK 47 (PA)

Shakil travelled to Raqqa, Syria, in October 2014, before fleeing in January 2015. She denied the terrorism charges and said she just wanted to live under Sharia.

Sentencing her at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Justice Inman said she had told "lie after lie" to police and knew her son would be used as an Isis fighter.

There would be "an element of deterrence" in his sentence, he added, to discourage others from joining terrorist organisations.

Giving evidence during the trial, Dr Florence Gaub - a senior analyst for the European Union Institute for Security Studies - said 60 British women are thought to have gone to Syria, making up around 10 per cent of women from Europe, North America and Australia who have joined the group.