Turkey Detains Suspect Who Allegedly Helped 3 UK Schoolgirls Join ISIL

Missing schoolgirls. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout composite of stills taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of (left to right) Kadiza Sultana,16, Shamima Begum,15 and 15-year-old Amira Abase going throu... Missing schoolgirls. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout composite of stills taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of (left to right) Kadiza Sultana,16, Shamima Begum,15 and 15-year-old Amira Abase going through security at Gatwick airport, as the families of the schoolgirls feared to be intent on joining the Islamic State say they were let down by the Metropolitan Police. Issue date: Friday March 6, 2015. They say a letter requesting to interview the three in relation to the disappearance of a classmate who fled to war-torn Syria should have been handed directly to the families but instead were hidden by the girls in their textbooks. See PA story POLICE Syria. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire URN:22434183 MORE LESS
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A foreign intelligence operative suspected of helping three British schoolgirls join the Islamic State extremist group in Syria has been detained, Turkey’s foreign minister said Thursday.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the suspect acted even though he or she worked for the intelligence agency of a country that is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. Cavusoglu did not identify the country but said it was not the United States or a member of the European Union.

Cavusoglu, who was interviewed on A Haber television, said he had shared the information with his British counterpart.

“Do you know who the person who helped the girls turned out to be?” Cavusoglu said. “Someone who worked for the intelligence service of a country that is part of the coalition. It is not an EU member, it is not the United States either.”

He did not provide further details on the suspect’s detention.

Britain’s Foreign Office had no immediate comment on the news. A British police spokesman said he had no information on the topic.

The three teenage girls traveled from the U.K. to Turkey last month, from where they are believed to have crossed into Syria. Their journey highlighted the difficulty of halting the radicalization of young Muslims. British authorities previously identified them as Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15.

Turkey accused Britain of failing to notify authorities in time to prevent them from crossing into Syria.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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