Turkey deports foreign terrorist to US

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey deported a foreign terrorist to the U.S., according to the Interior Ministry on Tuesday.

Without naming the terrorist group, the ministry in a tweet said Turkey will continue returning foreign terrorists to their home countries.

Turkey deported nearly 780 foreign terrorists back to their countries in 2019.

The issue of 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 repatriated to their countries of origin, while several European countries have refused, saying the terrorists were denationalized.

Since recognizing Daesh/ISIS as a terror group in 2013, Turkey has been attacked by the group numerous times. The attacks have killed 315 people and injured hundreds.

In response to the attacks, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad, neutralizing 3,500 Daesh/ISIS terrorists and arresting 5,500.