Four more foreign terrorist fighters with suspected Daesh links have been deported, according to the Interior Ministry. Three terrorist fighters of German nationality were sent back to their countries Wednesday while a Swedish citizen was deported Thursday.
"The deportation of foreign terrorist fighters to their countries is continuing," the Interior Ministry said on Twitter on Wednesday.
There are some 1,200 foreign Daesh members being held in Turkish prisons, with nearly 300 having been detained over the course of Turkey's current anti-terror operation in northern Syria. The arrests include relatives of Daesh members, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Nov. 4, adding that Ankara would deport the terrorists to their countries of origin.
Turkey has deported 150 foreign terrorist fighters linked to the Daesh terror group to their countries of origin since Nov. 11, Interior Ministry Spokesperson İsmail Çataklı said at the beginning of the month.
The issue of the handling of Daesh members and their families detained in Syria – including foreign members of the terror group – has been controversial, with Turkey arguing that foreign-born terrorists should be repatriated to their countries of origin, while several European countries have refused, saying the terrorists have been stripped of their citizenship.
Turkey has deported more than 5,000 Daesh suspects and 3,290 foreign terrorists from 95 different countries in recent years while dismantling terror cells and safe houses providing logistical assistance to the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq or plotting attacks inside the country.
The country's efforts against Daesh made it a primary target for the terrorist group, which carried out numerous gun and bomb attacks targeting security forces and civilians, including the country's deadliest terror attack, which killed 102 people and wounded 400 others in a twin suicide bombing at a rally in the capital Ankara on Oct. 10, 2015.