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Spy detained for helping British girls join IS: Turkish FM

Xinhua, March 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkey said on Thursday that it had detained an intelligence agent working for a country in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) for helping three British girls cross into Syria through Turkey.

Speaking in a television interview, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the spy was neither from the United States nor the European Union, without specifying the details.

The three girls from London, 15-year-old Amira Abase and Shamima Begum, and 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana, were believed to cross into Syria via Turkey and join the IS in February, British police said.

Figures show thousands of foreign fighters have participated in the fight with IS and other militant groups in Iraq and Syria, many crossing via Turkey.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also said in February that about 1,000 Turkish militants had joined the ranks of the IS.

Ankara has been beefing up security measures following harsh criticism that Turkey should take more measures to stem the flow of foreign fighters into Syria. Endit