Spanish couple suspected of joining ISIL detained in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

DHA Photo

A Spanish couple allegedly trying to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was taken into custody in Istanbul on April 18, according to police officials.

Spain had issued a “red notice” for Ahmad Debza, 33, and his wife, Nadia Fernandez Ataich, 27, both of Moroccan origin, Istanbul police officials said.

The couple arrived at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on Oct. 11, 2014, and was accused of preparing to go to Syria to join ISIL. Upon completing their legal procedures, the suspects will be deported soon, police have said.
Thousands of foreign fighters from all over the world are believed to have joined groups such as ISIL in Syria and Iraq. 

Turkey, which shares an 800-kilometer-long border with Syria, has deported many suspects for allegedly trying to cross into Syria to join ISIL.

Most recently, Turkey deported nine Britons, including the son of a local councilor, on April 14, two weeks after arresting them for attempting to cross into Syria to join the jihadists.

The nine were taken by minibus from custody cells in the Hatay region of south Turkey on the Syrian border to the city of Adana where they were put on a flight to the Mediterranean city of Antalya, the Anatolia news agency said. The nine Britons were put on a flight back to Britain from Turkey’s southern province of Antalya.