NOVANEWS
TODAY’S ZAMAN / ANKARA
German television station ARD has claimed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has a liaison office in İstanbul’s Fatih district and that many militants going to Syria have been given money, up to sums of 400 euros, at this office along with help in crossing the Turkish border to join the terrorist organization’s militants advancing in the region.
According to ARD, ISIL is giving money to and sending many militants to Syria via this office. “There is a liaison office of the terrorist organization in Fatih. Militants have been given money, up to 400 euros and provided help to cross the border,” claimed the report, which was broadcast on Thursday. The story is said to be based on information the station received from its sources in the European Commission (EC).
The German state TV station claimed that the foreign fighters from Turkey receive ideological training, and after having been turned into radicals they receive military training. ARD said after a while most of them try to return to European Union countries. The EC officials estimated that there are more than 2,000 militants joining ISIL who come from Europe, ARD reported, adding that these militants will pose a threat for Europe after they come back with experience of fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The Daily Mail of Britain also reported this past week that any ISIL militant who pays $10 can cross into Syria from Turkey, and about 20 people cross the border into the country every day.
Ankara categorically denies allegations of turning a blind eye to ISIL’s activities at the Syrian border. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official, who asked not to be named, told Today’s Zaman that Turkey cooperates with the European countries and others on the foreign fighters issue, and so far there have been 6,000 names added to the “No Entry” list of those who are prevented from entering Turkey.
ISIL a state secret
Meanwhile, in Turkey, according to a report by the news portal Diken.com on Friday ISIL’s activities in Turkey and information about its activities are considered a “state secret.”
Diken reported that lawyer and deputy chairman of the Gaziantep Bar Association Bektaş Şarklı, citing the Right to Information Act, has sent an email to the Gaziantep Police Department to ask about ISIL’s activities in the province of Gaziantep.
Şarklı asked in his email whether or not there is an investigation about ISIL’s activities in the city, if not, he requested to know why there isn’t an investigation being conducted, citing the local and international press reports about ISIL being active in the region.
In response to Şarklı, the Gaziantep Police Department said the information is a state secret and classified; therefore, the Right to Information Act does not apply. “The Right to Information Act does not include the state’s top secret classified information and documents,” Şarklı was told by the Gaziantep Police Department.
On June 11 of this year 49 Turkish citizens in Turkey’s consulate general in Mosul were taken hostage by ISIL militants. The Turkish government imposed a gag order immediately after the start of the hostage crisis, effectively preventing the media from questioning the failures of the ruling party’s officials.
