DUSHANBE, April 8, 2015, Asia-Plus — Twelve foreigners, including one Tajik national, have reportedly been detained in Turkey after allegedly trying to enter Syria illegally.
TASS reports that according to a statement released by Gaziantep”s governorship on Tuesday, 12 foreigners, including seven Russians, two citizens of the self-declared Republic of Kosovo, one national of Tajikistan, one national of Switzerland and one national of Syria, have been detained while trying to illegally cross into Syria from southern Turkey.
The detainees are reportedly suspected of an attempt to join the Islamic State (IS) militants.
We will recall that two Tajik nationals were reportedly detained in Turkey on April 1 after allegedly trying to cross into Syria illegally.
Turkish news agency Anadolu has reported that a statement released by Gaziantep”s governorship on April 3 says seven foreigners and a Turkish citizen were taken into custody on April 1 after trying to illegally cross into Syria from southern Turkey. Officials added that the foreign detainees – one from Uzbekistan, two from Tajikistan, and four Russian nationals – were now forbidden to travel outside the country. A court also ordered the arrest of the Turkish citizen.
Meanwhile, Tajik police said last month they have detained a 25-year-old Tajik woman who was allegedly planning to take a bus from Turkey to Syria to join Islamic State militants.
Tajik Interior Ministry said on March 10 that Shahnoza Bozorzoda, a medical student, was detained in Istanbul by Tajik authorities after she called a friend in Dushanbe to tell him about her intention to join the extremist group. Tajik national television broadcast a report on March 10 that showed her acknowledging that she had traveled to Turkey and had been in contact for months with a Tajik man alleged to be fighting in Syria. Authorities say Bozorzoda was “radicalized” by the alleged fighter through social networking sites and Viber mobile-phone messages.
In a statement delivered at a seminar in Dushanbe, Tajik Interior Minister revealed on April 2 that more than 200 Tajik nationals are currently in the ranks of Islamic State (IS) militants fighting in Syria.
