Turkey deports 11 French citizens over Daesh/ISIS links

Turkey deported 11 French citizens over links to the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday.

The ministry statement said the extradition process continues for other foreign terrorists.

The issue of the handling of Daesh/ISIS members and their families detained in Syria -- including foreign members of the terror group -- has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists should be returned to their countries of origin.

Ankara has said several European countries turned down its efforts to send Daesh/ISIS members back to their countries.

Turkey has so far deported 7,500 Daesh/ISIS members, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week, adding that there are currently 1,149 Daesh/ISIS terrorists in Turkish prisons.