Japanese man detained in Turkey for trying to join Islamic State

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

TURKEY: A Japanese man who had attempted to join the Islamic State militant group has been detained by Turkish security forces near the Syrian border early on Wednesday, security sources said.

The 24-year-old was on his way to Syria to join the ranks of the radical group when he was detained in the Karkamis district of Gaziantep province, just across the border from the Islamic State-controlled Syrian town of Jarablus, the sources said.

The man, who Turkish media are calling “M.M.”, made contact with the militants through social media, the sources said. He is due to be deported once authorities finish with his interrogation, the sources said.

He said he was persuaded to join the group by a Syrian he spoke to on the telephones, Dogan news agency said.

A spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Ankara said it was aware of media reports, but had not yet confirmed the information.

Last year Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of a Japanese man in Bangladesh. Earlier in 2015, Islamic State militants said they had beheaded two Japanese hostages.

— Phuket Gazette Editors