Turkish teen at Syria rebel training camp returns home

SAMSUN - Doğan News Agency

The boy's parents notified the police, who found after an investigation that he had been taken to a training camp in Syria by his two acquaintances. DHA photo

An 18-year-old Turkish high school student who went to Syria to fight against the Bashar al-Assad regime forces after being recruited by two people has survived the violent war due to his parents' intervention.
 
A.K. was persuaded to join the fight in Syria by two people he met through Facebook and entered Syria via the southern province of Hatay's Reyhanlı district, which had suffered a twin car bomb attack on May 11 that killed 52 people.
 
The boy's parents notified the police, who found after an investigation that he had been taken to a training camp in Syria by his two acquaintances.
 
The parents went to Reyhanlı and finally reached A.K. via mobile phone and convinced him to return to home.
 
"They used my religious beliefs," A.K. said, adding that he was grateful for his parents’ intervention.
 
The two who took the teenager to Syria were arrested on charges of being members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, while A.K. was released after giving testimony to a prosecutor.