Turkey has rounded up 15,000 Daesh cadres — diplomat

JEDDAH: Turkey’s security agencies have arrested 15,000 members of the Daesh terrorist organization at its airports and border crossings, a diplomat said here recently.
The Daesh members had attempted to enter Turkey territory, said Fikrat Ozar, consul general of Turkey in Jeddah. There were also 1,500 Daesh members arrested trying to cross Turkey’s borders and travel to Syria. These people were handed over to their governments, Ozar said.
Ozar said Turkey’s government rejected reports that it supports terror organizations. These reports were “lies and pure fabrication.” The country has cooperated with the international community to fight terrorism, he said after an iftar gathering at the consulate.
Ozar said that Turkey had undergone a challenging democratization process since 1950. It recently held parliamentary elections, which were conducted in a free and fair manner, and with no objections to the result.
He said that Turkey has embraced more than 2 million Iraqi and Syrian refugees who fled from injustice, war and oppression in their countries, and provided them with food and shelter.
Ozar said that Turkey was a popular tourist destination for travelers from Arab and Islamic countries, in summer and winter. The country especially attractive because it is located on the Asian and European continents, he said.
It has natural beauty and preserved its Western and Eastern heritage. Muslims can hear the call to prayer throughout the country and get all types of halaal food, Ozar said.