Turkey deports another Syria-bound British woman

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Turkey deported a female British national to the U.K. on March 19, after police the woman on suspicion of trying to cross into neighboring Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to the Turkish authorities.

Police detained Jalila Nadra H., 22, at the central bus station in Ankara on March 17 in an operation conducted by anti-terror teams, police sources said.

Nadra H. was later sent to the Istanbul Police Department to complete formalities and be deported to the U.K.

According to the BBC, a British woman was also arrested at Luton Airport after landing from Istanbul on charges of terrorism. The identity of the woman has not been released.

Recently, three British teenagers were deported from Turkey after allegedly trying to cross over into Syria to join ISIL. The three teens, two 17-year-old boys and one 19-year-old from north-west London, were detained at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport on March 14 and sent back to the U.K. the same day, after British officers alerted the Turkish authorities.

Cooperation between Turkish and U.K. police has intensified after three British girls, Shamima Begum, 15, Amira Abase, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16,  went missing from East London in early February and reportedly arrived in Turkey to cross into Syria.

Their relatives have criticized police for failing to alert them of the first friend’s disappearance, saying they might have been able to stop the girls if they had been forewarned. Turkish authorities have also complained that they were not told about the girls until it was too late.

According to Turkish officials, Turkey has deported more than 1,100 Syria-bound foreigners to their countries of origin since January.