Turkey deports 3 Swiss nationals for terror links

By Isa Toprak

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey deported three foreign terrorist fighters to Switzerland, the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The Swiss nationals were sent back to their country of origin as part of Turkey’s ramped-up efforts to repatriate foreign terrorist fighters, it added.

Turkey continues to deport foreign terrorist fighters, the statement added.

The issue of the handling of Daesh/ISIS members and their families detained in Syria -- including foreign members of the terror group -- has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists should be returned to their countries of origin.

Ankara has said several European countries resisted its efforts to send Daesh/ISIS members back to their countries, but that it will nevertheless press forward.

Turkey has so far deported 7,500 Daesh/ISIS members, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said early December, adding that there are currently 1,149 Daesh/ISIS terrorists in Turkish prisons.

* Writing by Dilara Hamit