Turkey deports 11 suspected French IS militants

Turkey aims to extradite around 2,500 IS terrorists, the majority of whom will be sent to the European Union (EU) nations even if their citizenship was revoked.

Ankara: Turkey has deported 11 suspected French Islamic State (IS) militants to their home country, the interior ministry here said on Monday.

The ministry made the announcement in a statement, without providing details or identifying the suspects.

Turkey aims to extradite around 2,500 IS terrorists, the majority of whom will be sent to the European Union (EU) nations even if their citizenship was revoked.

Ankara started sending foreign IS captives back to their countries of origin last month.

Europeans comprise a fifth of the around 10,000 IS members held captive in Syria. Denmark, Germany and Britain have so far revoked some citizenship.

Turkey has so far deported 7,500 IS members, Anadolu news agency reported citing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying earlier last month, adding that there were currently 1,149 terrorists in Turkish prisons.

Since Ankara recognized IS as a terrorist group in 2013, the Turkish state has been attacked by the group numerous times, including 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings, and four armed attacks that killed 315 people.