Turkey starts repatriation of captured Islamic State militants

11 November 2019 - 12:13 By Reuters
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Image: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

Turkey has started the repatriation of captured Islamic State militants, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Monday, after the Turkish interior minister warned last week that Ankara would do so even if the prisoners had their citizenships revoked.

It was not immediately clear how many jihadists would be repatriated.

President Tayyip Erdogan was cited as saying on Friday that there are 1,201 Islamic State prisoners in Turkish prisons, while Turkey had captured 287 militants in Syria. 

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