Four Britons who sought to get to Syria arrested on return to UK

LONDON - Reuters

A still image of a video shows Waheed Ahmed, the son of a Labour councillor in Britain, seating inside a bus after leaving a police station in Hatay, April 12, 2015. REUTERS Photo

Four Britons who were detained in Turkey on suspicion of trying to cross illegally into Syria were arrested on their return to England on April 15, police said.

The four were part of a group of nine people, all members of the same family, who were detained in Turkey at the beginning of the month. 

One of the nine, a 21-year-old man named in the media as Waheed Ahmed, the son of a British local politician, was arrested when he returned to Britain on April 14. 

They were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, police said. 

Thousands of foreigners have joined the ranks of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other militant groups in Syria and Iraq, many of them crossing via Turkey. 

Turkish and other security services estimate some 600 are Britons, including Mohammed Emwazi, named "Jihadi John" in the British media, who has appeared in several ISIL beheading videos. 

About half of the 600 are thought to have returned home.