961 foreign ISIL members from 57 countries caught in Turkey in 2015

Some 961 foreign members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from 57 countries were caught by Turkish security forces in 2015, intelligence sources have told daily Hürriyet.

The question of foreign fighters and the security of Turkey's border with Syria has been raised again following the ISIL suicide attack in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet Square, which killed 10 German tourists. 

Intelligence sources speaking on condition of anonymity said strict measures had been taken at the border to prevent and catch foreign fighters trying to enter Turkey from Syria or vice versa, but admitted it was almost impossible to totally prevent illegal crossing.

The same sources said 961 ISIL members had been caught in Turkey by security forces in 2015, without naming the 57 countries from which the foreign fighters had come as they did not want the countries' representation offices in Turkey to react negatively, as was previously the case. 

In December 2015, Turkey released a list of 913 foreign jihadists caught in Turkey in the first 11 months on the same year with open numbers of which countries they had come from. Most of the embassies in Ankara whose citizens were listed are reported to have reacted against being so openly cited. 

China tops list of foreign fighters

According to the list announced in December, China tops the list with 324 citizens caught in Turkey fighting for ISIL. Russia comes second as 99 foreign fighters with Russian passports were caught in Turkey, while the Palestinians made up the third country in the list with 83 fighters. There were also 63 fighters from Turkmenistan, 57 from Afghanistan, and 44 from Indonesia. 

Fighters include Trinidad Tobago, Maldives citizens

The...