U.S. citizen among alleged militants Turkey deported

ISTANBUL — Turkey said Monday that it has deported an American citizen and a Danish national suspected of belonging to the Islamic State militant group, as the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began following through on a pledge to repatriate foreign-born extremists detained in Turkey.

An Interior Ministry spokesman, Ismail Catakli, did not identify the American or say where the person had been sent. Irish, German and French nationals detained by Turkey would be deported in the coming days, he added.

Thousands of foreigners flocked to the Islamic State as it began seizing territory in Iraq and Syria five years ago. The fate of many foreign militants who were detained after the Islamic State was driven from its last stronghold earlier this year remains unresolved, because many European states, citing the threat of attacks at home, have refused to repatriate them.

European states have insisted that the Islamic State members face trial where they were captured or have sought to transfer them to Iraq for prosecution there. Some countries, including Britain, have stripped suspected militants of their citizenship to ensure they do not return home.

Last week, Turkey’s interior minister said the foreign detainees would be sent back to their countries, even in cases in which they had lost their citizenship and were effectively stateless. “We are not a hotel for anyone’s Daesh members,” Suleyman Soylu told reporters, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS. “What am I supposed to do with your terrorist?”

A State Department spokeswoman said Monday that the United States was “aware of reports of the detainment of a U.S. citizen by Turkish authorities. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”