British woman held in Turkey on suspicion of trying to travel to Syria

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/british-woman-held-turkey-suspicion-travel-syria

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A 21-year-old British woman has been detained in Turkey on suspicion of trying to travel to Isis-held territory in Syria.

The woman was detained at a bus stop in Ankara late on Monday and is being held pending deportation hearings.

A Turkish official said the woman – identified only as JNH – was apprehended based on Turkish intelligence and were not tipped off by British authorities.

Another official told the Associated Press that correspondence and images on the woman’s mobile phone indicated that she was planning to head to Isis-held territory.

The British Foreign Office released a statement confirming the detention of a British national in Ankara. It said British officials were providing consular assistance, but did not provide any other details.

The woman’s arrest comes after it was revealed that three male British teenagers were stopped in the Turkish city of Istanbul while attempting to reach Syria to join Isis.

The Metropolitan police said on Sunday that Turkish officials held two 17-year-old boys from north-west London after being tipped off by British officers. They were with a 19-year-old man and all three were on their way to Syria.

The three were brought back to the UK late on Saturday night and were arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks.

Related: Three male British teens heading for Syria are stopped in Istanbul

Turkish authorities have been under increased pressure to intercept British nationals travelling through Turkey in order to join Isis fighters in Syria after three British teenage girls fled their families in east London to join the terrorist organisation and were pictured apparently crossing the border.

Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase – friends from the Bethnal Green academy in east London – flew to Turkey on 17 February and subsequently crossed the border into Syria.

Two months previously, one of their school friends, Sharmeena Begum, also 15, had run away from her home in Bethnal Green to travel to an Isis-controlled part of Syria. It is understood that, in early December 2014, Sharmeena flew out of the UK from Gatwick airport to Istanbul, and then travelled by road across Turkey to its border with Syria.