UPDATE - Daesh/ISIS terrorist extradited to US, says Turkey

UPDATE TO STATEMENT

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - A Daesh/ISIS terrorist who was stranded at the Turkey-Greece border has been extradited to the U.S., the Turkish interior minister said Friday.

"Today an American who was stuck between our country and Greece was extradited to the U.S. from Istanbul a while ago," Suleyman Soylu said.

Muhammad Darwis B., reportedly an American of Jordanian descent, was deported by Turkey to Greece earlier this week after being caught in Syria.

It was not immediately clear why Darwis was sent to Greece rather than the U.S.

When he proceeded from the Turkish border gate to the adjoining Greek gate, Greek officials refused to let him in -- twice.

This left him in the no-man’s land along the border.

In his first unsuccessful attempt to enter Greece, Greek authorities sent him back to the Turkish gate on foot. His second attempt, however, resulted in a stamp on his passport preventing him from entering Greece.

He was allowed to sleep in a car by Turkish border security, provided with food, and he was sent back to the buffer zone in the morning.

Also on Friday, Soylu said two other Daesh/ISIS members were extradited to Germany.

He said one of the Daesh members who was arrested had close ties with its slain chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"I can only reveal this much: it's a name taken in connection with major bombings across Turkey and in Europe," he said.

Soylu said earlier this month that Turkey would start extraditing captured Daesh/ISIS terrorists to their home countries.

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.

Ankara has said that it will send Daesh/ISIS members back to their countries, but several European countries have refused, saying the terrorists were denationalized.