Indonesia joins search for 16 missing in Turkey

BANGKOK: -- The Indonesian government is teaming up with Turkish authorities to search for 16 Indonesians who went missing while on a group tour in Istanbul as there are indications that they may have joined the Islamic State (IS) militant group, The Jakarta Post reported.

According to Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, the 16 Indonesians, six of whom are children — with one being 10 months old — and another a teenager, entered Turkey with nine others on Feb 24 on a tour arranged by Smailing Tour travel agency. The 16 immediately separated from the group after passing through immigration.

They reportedly promised to meet the group in Pamukkale city on Feb 26, but there had been no news of them by the time the group was scheduled to return home on March 4.The tour organizer also failed to reach them for confirmation on their departure.

President Joko Widodo said on Sunday that the country’s relevant institutions, including the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), would be involved in the joint search team. The president said it was believed they headed to Syria, but this had not been confirmed.

Ten of the 16 people are registered as residents of Surabaya, East Java, while the remaining six of Surakarta, Central Java.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/indonesia-joins-search-for-16-missing-in-turkey

-- Thai PBS 2015-03-10

splendid for Indo-Land, 16 left, only another 249'999'984 to go.

Good riddance.

Let them all join DAESH (ISIS). The more of these creatures at the same place same time is gonna save some ammo for the troops ...

no direct flights to overthere that everybody has to go true turkey ?

they can also claim like TAT that tourist numbers are up up up

Inflammatory post removed.

I guess they just hopped on the Jihad express, as the flight to near the Syrian border is called. Turkey are at best a passive facilitator for ISIS, though I suspect Erdogan really fancies himself as Caliph.

Knowing Indons, I believe they just wandered off and got lost...

Jalan Jalan, la?

Whatever message the "caliphate" has sure is selling well. They are pulling people in from all across the world so fast that they are falling all over themselves to enlist. There must be something in their message that resonates with these new enlistees because ISIS use volunteers not conscripts.

I guess they just hopped on the Jihad express, as the flight to near the Syrian border is called. Turkey are at best a passive facilitator for ISIS, though I suspect Erdogan really fancies himself as Caliph.

Turkey are more involved with ISIS than you think.

ISIS is the jihadi version of Woodstock, and make no mistake Turkey is quite complicit and knowledgeable about what is going on. Turkey and Thailand have a great deal in common.