Tareena Shakil trial: Mother tells court going to Syria was 'mistake'

A mother accused of taking her son to join the so-called Islamic State (IS) says in court she "made a mistake" when she fled to Syria.

Tareena Shakil, from Birmingham, told friends she was going on holiday to Turkey in October 2014 before she entered territory held by the group.

She told Birmingham Crown Court she came back early last year "of my own free will".

The 26-year-old denies joining IS or encouraging acts of terror on Twitter.

Ms Shakil handed herself in to the Turkish border patrols after fleeing Syria and was later arrested when she landed at Heathrow Airport.

The former health worker, who previously told the court she travelled to Syria to live under Sharia law, said she returned after realising how extreme the regime was.

"I was interested in Islamic State as a place, never in jihad or anything like that," she said.

Ms Shakil said she feared telling her family about life in Syria because IS fighters could murder her.

"I was one woman alone in the most dangerous place in the world - 4,000 miles from home - around some of the most dangerous people in the world," she said.

Under cross-examination, Ms Shakil was questioned about accounts she followed through social media site Twitter, which included a jihadi fighter who advocated being "harsh towards the kuffar [non-believer]".

She said she only retweeted images and passages from the Koran she agreed with, and did not endorse jihad against non-Muslims or extremist behaviour.

"If he says he's harsh towards the kuffar, that's a matter for him," she said.

"I have not been - half my family are non-believers."

The trial continues.