Turkey nabs Syria-bound British woman
Turkey has arrested another British national on suspicion of planning to travel to neighboring Syria to join a terrorist group, an official says.
Authorities arrested the 21-year-old woman at a bus station in Turkey’s capital city of Ankara on Monday, a government official confirmed.
The arrest was not due to intelligence sharing by the British authorities but solely based on the work of Turkish police, the official added.
However, a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed the detention, adding that “we are providing consular assistance.”
The arrest follows on the footsteps of three British male teenagers who were detained in the city of Istanbul while trying to make their way into Syria and join the ISIL terrorists.
On Sunday, the three teenagers were released on bail after being deported back to Britain and questioned for 24 hours on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism.
At least 600 Britons are estimated to have slipped into Syria to wage war against the government of President Bashar al-Assad since 2011.
Turkey has been accused of failing to control its 560-mile (901-kilometer) long border with Syria and allowing terrorists easy passage. Ankara has in turn complained that European police forces have been slow to share information on extremists traveling through the country.
Meanwhile, Ankara is widely believed to be facilitating the flow of foreign nationals into neighboring Syria and Iraq, where they join the ranks of extremist terror groups. Ankara is known as a staunch supporter of ISIL fighting the governments of Syria and Iraq.
The ISIL terrorist group, with members from several Western countries, controls parts of Syria and Iraq, and has been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.
