WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Foreign fighters joining ISIL militant network have been infiltrating into Syria through its border with Turkey, US Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk stated on Monday.
“Almost all of them [ISIL foreign fighters] are coming in from Turkey. We know that,” McGurk said.
The envoy further explained that Turkey has taken active measures to detect travelling terrorists on its borders despite a very large number of people coming to Turkey daily.
The anti-ISIL coalition is seeking to ensure that its efforts are focused not only on Turkey, but on the countries where the fighters originate from, McGurk said.
In April 2014, Syria's Foreign Ministry accused Turkey of providing direct logistical and military support to terrorist groups operating in the north of the country.
Syria has been in the state of civil war since 2011. Many insurgent groups, such as ISIL and the Nusra Front, are active in the country. The Turkish border is known to be widely used by would-be militants to cross into Syria. Ankara claims that it tries to keep foreigners away from the border but that it is unable to fully cope with the influx of aspiring jihadists.
