Turkish NGO helps release Iranians

ALTINÖZÜ - Anatolia News Agency

AA photo

The Free Syrian Army released 11 Iranians near Turkey border after mediation of Turkish charity İHH. Iranians are held in Hatay province as of yesterday.

Eleven Iranians arrested by the Free Syrian Army were released yesterday after mediation by Turkey’s Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) at a location close to the Turkish border.

 The Iranians have been detained by Turkish gendarmerie forces at the Karbeyaz Gendarmerie Station, after crossing the border and arriving at Kolcular village in the Altınözü district of southern province Hatay. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has admitted releasing eleven Iranians.

In an identity check, the gendarmerie forces discovered ten of the Iranians carried the passports of the Islamic Republic of Iran while one of them had no passport. Turkish authorities have launched an investigation into the eleven detainees. The İHH, who reportedly arranged the Iranians’ release, is known for an attempt to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza with a convoy. Meanwhile, in a statement released on their web site yesterday, the FSA said eleven Iranians were members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and who shot at Syrian opposition. Meanwhile, an İHH group sought assistance from the office of al-Assad, requesting it facilitates their departure from the Syrian port at Latakia back in 2010, according to emails leaked from the Syrian president’s media adviser, Haaretz reported yesterday.