Turkey holds suspected Syria-bound UK woman

[webfact]

Turkey holds suspected Syria-bound UK woman
AYSE WIETING, Associated Press
DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) — A 21-year-old British woman suspected of trying to travel to Islamic State group territory in Syria has been detained in Turkey, government officials said Tuesday.

The woman, identified as J.N.H., was detained at a bus terminal in Ankara late Monday and is being held pending deportation hearings. One of the Turkish officials said authorities apprehended her based on Turkish intelligence and weren't tipped off by British authorities.

The officials said that correspondence and images on the woman's cellphone indicate that she was planning to head to IS territory. The two officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of government rules against speaking to the media without prior authorization. Turkish authorities began deportation proceedings following an interrogation of the woman.

The woman left the U.K. on a flight to Belgium on Saturday, according to the Turkish officials, and then continued on flights to Istanbul and Ankara.

Authorities provided the AP with a copy of the woman's passport and a photograph of her in detention with details obscured. The photograph shows the woman seated and dressed mostly in black, wearing a headscarf and a leather jacket.

The British Foreign Office released a statement confirming the detention of a British national in Ankara. It said British officials are providing consular assistance, but didn't give any other details.

The woman is among a spate of young British travelers who have come through Turkey and are believed to be en route to Syria.

Last week, three British teens were detained by Turkish authorities after arriving from Spain, and deported to Britain.

Three British girls— identified by British authorities as Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15 — traveled last month from the U.K. to Turkey, from where they are believed to have crossed into Syria.

Earlier this month, a Turkish television station obtained video showing the girls at an Istanbul bus terminal before they boarded a bus to a city near Turkey's border with Syria.

On Tuesday, a British court banned a 16-year-old boy from traveling to stop him from following his three brothers, who fought with militants in Syria. Two of them died there.

There has been finger-pointing between Turkey and European countries over who is to blame for the flow from Europe through Turkey of IS fighters and supporters. Turkey has charged that European countries have often not provided timely information on travelers with suspected militant ties, while Western countries say Turkey has not done enough to seal its porous borders.

But following the arrest of the three British teens last week, both Turkey and Britain praised the cooperation.
___

Greg Katz and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-18

[mango66]

Turkey is a very militant muslim country !

They not direct connected to ISA, but many turkish citicen for sure colaborating with them ;

Dont trust any muslim today !!

take care ;

like in another religion is warned of the devil in sheeps wool !!

[peterb17]

Hate to say, but many in the UK express the view- just let them go.

They obviously don't like living in a country that provides them with education, social welfare , Sharia courts and allows them to wander around like a ninja dressed in black from head to toe.

Our local councils don't even celebrate Christmas anymore- winter holiday- we bend over backwards to appease the Muslim minority- 5%

So off you go- to be passed around as a sex slave and we hear now a real danger of having to undergo female genital mutilation .

If you turn your back on one of the most tolerant societies in the world - don't come back

[surfinglife]

A lot cheaper to provide a charter flight every day and one-way tickets. Go and never come back.

[ALFREDO]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hate to say, but many in the UK express the view- just let them go.

If you turn your back on one of the most tolerant societies in the world - don't come back

A lot cheaper to provide a charter flight every day and one-way tickets. Go and never come back.

I see it differently,

you give them more women,

they produce more offspring and willing cannon fodder and assassins and Suicide bombers.

[Lissos]

They not direct connected to ISA

Let us hope not. I'd better check my statement to make sure ?

[Scott]

Although I lived and worked in Turkey for quite a while, I find it to be an enigmatic country. It straddled the old Soviet Union vs. the US cold war. It straddles Europe and Asia. It straddles religious conservatism vs. secularism. In many ways it's not unlike Thailand. It has a strong national identity, but segments of that population are largely excluded.

Turkey also has some rather testy neighbors to deal with, Iran, Iraq and Syria for example.

Unlike a lot of countries, if they screw things up they have a lot to lose. The stakes for Turkey are quite high.

[F430murci]

Let the B go. What the heck is stopping her and sending her back going to accomplish except putting another dangerous person back into the YK who will leech of the system.

Edited March 18, 2015 by F430murci

[bangon04]

"The woman is among a spate of young British travelers who have come through Turkey and are believed to be en route to Syria."

It is baffling why girls would choose to become comfort women for rough men with beards, bandoliers and bandanas. Don't understand why women would vote for sharia law, either.