Turkey To Start Repatriating Captured Daesh Members – Minister

Turkey will begin to repatriate captured Daesh terrorists to their home countries as of Monday, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Friday.

Turkey has long criticised its European allies for refusing to take back Daesh militants who are their citizens, and on Monday warned that Ankara would send captured militants back to their countries even if their citizenships have been revoked.

“We are telling them: ‘We’ll repatriate these people to you’, and we are starting as of Monday,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Soylu as saying.

The minister had previously said Turkey is “not a hotel” for foreign Daesh members.

Turkey says the YPG/PKK terrorists it is fighting in northeastern Syria released Daesh families from camps last month.

Ankara says about 287 Daesh members, including women and children, were re-captured during Turkey’s Peace Spring offensive.

We spoke with Francesco Rocca, President of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, for more on fighting Daesh remnants.

Turkey-Russia patrol

Turkish and Russian troops on Friday conducted their third joint patrol in northeast Syria, under a deal between the two countries that forced YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from areas bordering Turkey.

According to footage filmed by Russian state TV, the Russian military also deployed helicopters to patrol the area.

Turkey’s defence ministry said the troops were patrolling a region between Qamishli and Derik, east of the Euphrates.

It said the patrols were being supported by drones but provided no further details.

Turkey last month entered northeastern Syria to push out the YPG/PKK whom it considers a security threat for their links to PKK terrorism inside Turkey.

The deal with Russia, and a separate one with the US halted the Turkish offensive.

The patrols are aimed at allowing Turkey to ensure that YPG/PKK have evacuated the border area.

Operation Peace Spring, launched on October 9, aims to eliminate terrorist YPG/PKK elements from northern Syria and east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders.

Bombing

At least two people were killed and four injured in a car bomb attack in the Syrian town of Cobanbey near the Turkish border.

The explosion took place in front of a police department building in Cobanbey, the northern Aleppo province, which was liberated from terrorists during Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.