Turkey warns it will repatriate over 1,200 foreign ISIS detainees

Turkey currently has around 1,200 foreign Islamic State members in its prisons, including relatives of the suspects.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu warned on Monday that Ankara would return foreign Islamic State detainees to their native countries, even if their citizenship had been revoked.

According to Soylu, Turkey currently has around 1,200 foreign Islamic State members in its prisons, including relatives of the suspects.

“Those in the prisons are all foreign terrorist fighters, and there are also foreign terrorist fighters in the repatriation centers,” the Turkish interior minister said, according to Anadolu Agency.

“We are not a hotel” for any country’s Islamic State members, he added.

Meanwhile, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Turkey is “ready to work together with the countries of origin and international organization for the rehabilitation of spouses and children who have not been involved in crimes committed by foreign terrorist fighters affiliated with [ISIS].”

On Oct. 28, authorities in Turkey said they detained 20 foreign nationals with suspected ties to the Islamic State.

Read More: Police in Turkey arrest 20 foreign nationals on ISIS ties, state media reports

Many nations, notably European Union member states, have shown great reluctance to repatriate their nationals now in camps because of fears they pose a security threat.