REVISES HEADLINE, DECK; UPDATES WITH COURT REMANDING SUSPECTED TERRORIST; EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Sena Guler and Lale Koklu Karagoz
ANKARA / HATAY, Turkey (AA) - Turkish border guards on Monday took into custody a suspected French-origin terrorist trying to cross into the country from its southern border with Syria, officials said.
The suspect, sought with a red notice and identified only by the initials C.G., tried to enter the country’s southern Hatay province with a fake name, said Turkey’s National Defense Ministry in a statement.
The suspect was involved in the Syrian group Firqat al-Ghuraba, which includes other French nationals, it added.
Firqat al-Ghuraba, based in opposition-held areas in Idlib, northwestern Syria, is said to include many fighters from Europe.
The suspect was taken to police in Reyhanli, Hatay, the ministry said.
Later, a court remanded the suspect in custody, according to judicial sources.
In November, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that so far this year Turkey has deported nearly 9,000 foreign terrorists.