Turkey arrests 3 British teens
Three male teens from Britain who reached Turkey before being deported to the U.K. and arrested are believed to be the latest examples of a worrying trend — the rising number of young Britons seeking to travel to Syria to join extremists there.
The three suspects were being questioned at a London police station after their alleged bid to get to Syria, coming soon after three British schoolgirls eluded authorities and got to Syria last month. The girls are believed by police to have joined Islamic State militants in their selfdeclared caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.
British police said the two 17-year-old boys and a 19-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts. They haven’t been charged and their names haven’t been released.
When the schoolgirls managed to slip into Syria despite a search by both Turkish and British authorities, there was fingerpointing on both sides. Things were quite different Sunday, as Turkey and Britain hailed the fruits of their co-operation.
The male trio left Britain several days ago, travelling to Spain and then flying from Barcelona to Turkey. They were detained in Istanbul Friday after British officials notified Turkish authorities.
British legislator Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the case shows that the number of young Britons trying to reach the conflict zone in Syria “is on a much larger scale” than had been thought. Vaz praised Turkish authorities for acting quickly to prevent the teens from entering Syria.
Police counterterrorism officials and security services personnel have said their resources have been badly stretched as they try to maintain surveillance on the growing number of individuals interested in joining the extremists. They have warned that some who return after spending time in the conflict zone plan to launch attacks inside Britain.
A senior Turkish government official said the two 17-year-old boys had been detained at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport Friday by Turkish authorities who were acting on intelligence provided by British officials.
The teenagers were planning to travel to Syria, the official said. Turkish authorities believe they wanted to join IS extremists, but the official cautioned that they weren’t “100 per cent” certain that was their aim.
The 19-year-old man was detained at the airport after questioning by police based on profiling at the airport, the official said. British police originally believed only two teens were travelling, but soon learned that a third was involved.
Authorities say social media have made it much easier for young Britons to communicate with extremists inside Syria and that many are also drawn by websites touting the attraction of living under Islamic law.