Three British teens allegedly to join IS sent back to UK
Xinhua, March 16, 2015 Adjust font size:
Turkey said on Sunday that three British teens allegedly trying to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria were detained in a Turkish airport and sent back to Britain.
The semi-official Anatolia news agency reported that the three British teens arrived at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul through Spain.
According to the report, Turkish intelligence officers spotted the trio identified as Gafur H, Muhammed N. and Muhammed Abdulla H.
Turkish and British police has intensified their cooperation after three British girls went missing from East London in early February and reportedly arrived in Turkey to cross into Syria.
Police in London said they had been made aware that two 17-year-old boys had gone missing and were thought to be traveling to Syria. Further inquiries revealed they had traveled with a 19-year-old male.
Three British schoolgirls entered Turkey last month and are thought to have joined the IS group in Syria.
On Thursday, the Turkish foreign minister said the girls had been helped to cross the border by a spy working for one of the country's in the U.S.-led coalition against the militants.
The Turkish police intelligence group has monitored more than a thousand people arriving in Turkey this year, and sent nearly half of them back to their countries. Endit