PEOPLE who are caught trying to take their children to war zones such as Iraq or Syria should face the possibility of having their children taken into care for their own safety, according to a former senior prosecutor.

Nazir Afzal, who led the Crown Prosecution Service in north-west England from 2011 until earlier this year, said authorities should "resort to law" in cases where children are at risk of being taken areas controlled by Islamic State.

His comments come amid mounting fears that Bradford sisters Khadija Dawood, 30, Sugra Dawood, 34, and Zohra Dawood, 33, and their nine children, aged between three and 15, have travelled to link up with IS - also known as Isis - in the country.

Mr Afzal said: "The flight of young Muslims to Isis is not getting the attention from both the state and Muslim communities it requires.

"The state needs to clarify that Foreign Office 'advice not to travel' is more than advice.

"The international community has judged rightly that Iraq and Syria are unsafe areas. Therefore if a child is at risk of being taken there we should, if necessary resort to law to prevent them being taken."

Mr Afzal said this could include proceedings to make children wards of court being brought in appropriate cases.

A number of teenagers thought to be at risk of travelling to areas controlled by IS have been grounded by judges sitting in the Family Division of the High Court in recent months after social workers and police raised concerns.

Mr Afzal suggested court proceedings could also be used to stop those thought to be at risk of taking children from applying for travel documents.

"It's the basic principle in UK law that the 'welfare of the child is paramount' in the Children's Act and Universal declaration of the Rights of Child to which we are signatories," he said.

"That means what's in the best interests of the child, not their parents or carers."

Last year the Government outlined plans to prevent hundreds of young British Muslims from travelling to Iraq and Syria to fight with extremist militants by temporarily removing their passports.

Mr Afzal was also critical of Muslim leaders.

"The issue is only on the agenda when an individual crisis occurs," he said. "The propaganda that Isis is delivering needs a more robust and continuing response from these leaders in order to minimise its impact on families."

Police are "extremely concerned" about members of the missing Dawood family after receiving information that they may already be in Syria.

One of the sisters has made contact "and there is an indication that they may have already crossed the border into Syria", West Yorkshire Police said.

Their brother is believed to be fighting for IS in Syria and he reportedly persuaded his sisters over Skype to join him.

It has emerged that the same group tried to fly to Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

The North East Counter Terrorism Unit, based in Leeds, confirmed that they had been stopped and made the subject of security checks in March.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "There can never be any justification for a child being taken to a war zone."

He described the apparent situation of children being taken to Syria as "really difficult to understand".

He added: "Do you need to tell a mother not to take a child to a war zone? That seems really difficult. It must be that they are getting overwhelmed by some passion for the things they are attracted to in terms of what they believe is happening in Syria."

Sir Bernard said more research was needed to "understand what it is that is causing people to be attracted to something that most people think is barbaric".

He added: "We've got to understand more and come up with some structured way of intervening better."

Sir Bernard said it was "a little early" to conclude that powers to seize passports should be broadened to cover situations where there may be a child safety issue.

He said: "We have to look at some of these cases.

"There are powers available and we have to make sure we've got enough information to use them.

"At this stage I wouldn't call for that."