In Europe, parents' dismay as Syria jihad lures troubled teens

Ozana Rodrigues, the mother of Brian De Mulder, who left for Syria after being indoctrinated by Islamist group Sharia4Belgium, poses with a photo of her son outside the Antwerp courthouse, where the trial of the group is currently taking place, January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman

ANTWERP, Belgium (Reuters) - As Belgium braces for a verdict in Europe's biggest trial of those accused of fostering Islamist violence in Syria, much attention is on poor Muslim immigrant communities' struggle in a region blighted by youth unemployment.

But for parents in Antwerp, a city on high alert since the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris and police raids on Belgian jihadists, Wednesday's ruling by judges there may never explain why their two sporty teenagers, with no Muslim heritage, abandoned comfortable homes to take up arms in the Middle East.