Three British teens returned after trying to join Islamic State in Syria

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Three British teens returned after trying to join Islamic State in Syria

PUBLISHED : Monday, 16 March, 2015, 12:44am
UPDATED : Monday, 16 March, 2015, 12:44am

Associated Press in London

Smoke rises after an air strike on Atimah, in Idlib province, close to the border with Turkey. Three British teenagers wanted to cross the border into Syria. Photo: Reuters

Three British teens who were believed to be on their way to Syria to join militants there were detained in Turkey and quickly returned to the UK and arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts, British police on Sunday.

The male trio left Britain several days ago, and they were detained in Istanbul after British officials notified Turkish authorities. The three were arrested on suspicion of the preparation of terrorism acts and were in custody at a central London police station, police said. Their names haven't been released. Two are aged 17 and one is 19.

They are believed to be the latest in a growing number of Britons trying to travel to extremist-held territory inside Syria. Last month, three British schoolgirls left the UK for Turkey and, police believe, crossed the border into Syria to join Islamic State militants.

British legislator Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the latest case showed the number of young Britons trying to reach Syria "is on a much larger scale" than had been thought.

Vaz praised Turkish authorities for acting quickly to detain the teens before they entered Syria.

Similar attempts to stop the schoolgirls were unsuccessful - leading some to criticise Turkish officials for not acting quickly enough to keep them from entering Syria.

A senior Turkish government official said the two 17-year-old boys had been detained at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport on Friday by Turkish authorities who were acting on intelligence provided by British officials.

The 19-year-old man was detained at the airport after questioning by police based on profiling at the airport, the official said. All three had flown to Istanbul from Barcelona, Spain.

They were deported to London on Saturday - instead of Spain as is the normal procedure in Turkey - because Britain insisted they be returned to Britain, the official said. The teenagers were planning to travel to Syria, the official said. Turkish officials believe they wanted to join IS, but "we cannot say 100 per cent that that was the aim," the official said.

The Turkish official described the incident as a "'joint Turkish-British operation," and said Turkey welcomed the timely intelligence and cooperation by Britain. "Turkey is doing all that it can to stop the passage into Syria, but there has to be cooperation. This operation shows what can be achieved when there is cooperation," the official said.

British counterterrorism officers learned on Friday the teens had gone missing from their homes and they were thought to be travelling to Syria, police said.

Associated Press