Muslim women in London (illustration)
Muslim women in London (illustration)Reuters

A British mother of six who hoped one of her sons would become a jihadist was on Thursday jailed for five years and three months after she used social media to encourage acts of terror in Syria, according to the AFP news agency.

Runa Khan, from Luton in southeast England, admitted to four charges of disseminating terrorist publications between July and September 2013 after sending Facebook posts containing a picture of a suicide vest with the words "sacrifice your life to be in Islam".

She also described how fighters could gain entry into Syria, adding, "Sisters, if you love your sons, husbands and brothers, prove it by sending them to fight for Allah.

"Don't you want them to enter Jannah (paradise).

"Don't you want them to prepare for you a palace in Jannah."

The jury at Kingston Crown Court in southwest London also heard that the 35-year-old had a photo on her mobile phone of her two-year-old son with a toy rifle and a jihadist book.

They heard that she had praised an article on how to prepare young children for jihad.

"Don't underestimate the lasting effects of what those little ears take in during the first few years of life!" said the article. "No child is ever too young to be started off on jihad training in one form or another."

She posted another message reading, "Zipping up my 8 year old boys jacket as he wants to play outside for a bit. I pictured the future while I was zipping up his jacket, in sha Allah ill be tying the shahada bandana round his forehead and hand him his rifle and send him out to play the big boys game. Allahu Akbar."

Judge Peter Birts said a custodial sentence was inevitable given the "utmost gravitas" of the charges.

Thousands of European Muslims have reportedly flocked to join the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria, including at least several hundred from the UK, although some estimates put that figure at 1,000, and officials have admitted the precise figure is not yet known.

Several weeks ago, two brothers became the first Britons to be jailed for terrorism training in Syria, after they had admitted conspiracy to attend a terrorism training camp in 2013.

Prime Minister David Cameron recently outlined plans to seize passports from radicalized Britons and stop them returning from fighting overseas, while proposing landing bans on airlines that fail to comply with London's no-fly lists.

The danger from radicalized Britons was illustrated in October, when a four-man Islamic State (ISIS) terror cell was busted by police before apparently planning to behead one or several Britons on the streets of London.