Turkey is one of the main routes used by those seeking to join Daesh jihadist group, outlawed in many countries including Russia and the United States. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the Turkish authorities have detained 2,783 foreigners from 89 countries on suspicion of having links to Daesh. In 2015, more than 900 foreigners were detained while crossing the Turkish border with Syria.
Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had detained one of the Brussels terrorist attack suspects, identified as Ibrahim Bakraoui, on the border with Syria in June 2015 and subsequently deported him to the Netherlands. According to Erdogan, the Belgian authorities ignored Ankara's warnings that Bakraoui had ties with terrorists and proceeded to set him free.
Considerable parts of Syria and Iraq have been seized by Daesh militants, who have declared a caliphate on the territories under their control. The group is considered to be one of the main threats to global security.
