Turkey sends three Syria-bound teens back to UK
Upon arrival in Britain at the weekend, the trio was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorism acts.
The teenagers, who are all male and aged between 17 and 19, left Britain several days ago and were detained in Istanbul after British authorities tipped off their Turkish counterparts that they were planning to travel through Turkey to neighbouring Syria.
They are believed to be the latest in a growing number of Britons trying to travel to extremist-held territory there. Last month, three British schoolgirls left the UK for Turkey and, police believe, crossed the border into Syria to join IS group militants.
British legislator Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the latest case shows that the number of young Britons trying to reach the conflict zone in Syria “is on a much larger scale” than had been thought.
He praised Turkish authorities for acting quickly to detain the young men before they entered Syria. Similar attempts to stop the schoolgirls were unsuccessful.
British counterterrorism officers learned on Friday the teens had gone missing from their homes in Britain and they were thought to be traveling to Syria, police said.
An increasing number of Britons have traveled to Turkey to use it as a crossing point to enter Syria and to join IS group extremists who control territory in both Syria and Iraq. The militants have declared an Islamic "caliphate" on their territory.
British police say roughly 700 Britons have traveled to Syria to join extremists, raising concerns that some may launch attacks inside the UK if they return. Recent cases indicate a growing number of young women traveling there to become “jihadi brides.”
Authorities say Internet-based social media have made it much easier for young Britons to communicate with extremists inside Syria.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, REUTERS)
