Ankara: Turkish authorities have arrested 10 foreigners, near the Syrian border, suspected of wanting to join the Islamic State (IS) and deported them to their countries of origin, the daily Hurriyet reported.
The deportees are five Chinese citizens, three Tajiks, a Russian and a German, who were stopped Thursday by Turkish security forces in and around the town of Ceylanpinar, in the province of Sanliurfa bordering the Kurdish Syrian territory.
Security sources quoted by Hurriyet Friday noted that electronic equipment like cameras, flash drives and other devices were seized from the suspects.
The military also stopped 43 Syrian Kurds in possession of rifles and ammunition who attempted to illegally cross the Turkish border.
Some of them were suspected of being members of the Kurdish militias, who had decided to escape the jihadi offensive.
In recent days, the Turkish security forces have increased their presence on the border to deal with a possible new wave of refugees and to be prepared for possible incidents involving the IS, according to Hurriyet.
Turkey has also deployed teams to patrol the most sensitive points of the border area 24 hours a day and has increased controls at Turkish airports to prevent the entry of foreign fighters into Syria.
