Turkey arrests first Turkish IS member suspect
Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:
A Turkish national was arrested for allegedly being a member of Islamic State (IS), a first arrest of a Turkish citizen linked to the jihadist group, daily Vatan reported on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Musa Goktas was detained in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Jan. 27 during a police search of a bus heading to the Turkish capital of Ankara.
Goktas allegedly crossed into Syria on Oct. 8 with his 15-year-old twin sons in order to join ranks of the IS.
His wife, Fatma Goktas, informed the Turkish police that Goktas and her children were missing, with suspect that they could have joined the jihadist group.
After four months, he returned to Turkey to make preparations of permanently moving to Syria, report said.
The police, checking identities of passengers on the bus, realized Goktas's name over his wife's missing file.
In his testimony, Goktas said that he joined the IS as he wanted to live in line with the rules of his religion Islam, because the group has similar opinions him believed in.
The Turkish military said on Wednesday that four other suspected IS members were arrested during patrols in the southeast Gaziantep.
The Turkish Interior Minister revealed recently that some 700 Turkish militants have joined the ranks of the IS. And about 100 of them were killed in clashes, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in November 2014. Endit