APD | Turkey starts deportation of IS foreign jihadists to US, Europe

By APD writer Adtiya Nugraha

Turkish government has started sending back the Islamic State (IS) Western jihadists to their respective countries, as it began carrying out its pledge to send foreign jihadists home.

A Turkish Interior Ministry Spokesman Ismail Catakli said on Monday so far one unnamed American jihadist has been sent back to the United States, while seven Germans were scheduled to be deported Thursday.

Process to return 11 French citizens captured in Syria is also underway at present with jihadists from Ireland, Germany and Denmark would also follow later.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said earlier that Turkey will not accommodate foreign jihadists, vowed to send them home even the jihadists’ origin countries revoke their citizenships.

“That is not acceptable to us. It is also irresponsible. Turkey is not a hotel for foreign jihadists,” Solyu said, referring to Western countries’ policies to leave their foreign jihadists stateless in Turkey.

Solyu said that Turkey currently holds around 1,200 IS foreign jihadists of which 287 foreign of them were captured by Turkey forces in Syria since the start of October.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)