Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Turkey on Feb. 12 deported a terrorist to their home country of Germany, the Interior Ministry said.

It did not specify which terror group the fighter belonged to, but in recent months ISIL terrorists are being returned to their home countries.

Turkey detained four suspects linked to the ISIL terror group, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 11.

ISIL extremists are mounting increasingly bold attacks in Syria and Iraq following their loss of territory in both countries and are planning for the breakout of their fighters in detention facilities, U.N. experts said in a new report.

A senior member of the Syrian Islamist group, Jaish al-Islam, has been detained in France and charged with war crimes and torture.

The man, born in 1988, is a former spokesman for the group and has been in France with a student visa under the Erasmus program. He was detained in Marseille.

Turkey arrested 10 suspects linked to the ISIL terror group in Ankara, security sources said on Jan. 29.

Anti-terror police carried out raids at the addresses of suspects, said sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects were in contact with people in conflict zones and were plotting terrorist attacks, according to the police.

Turkey detained 10 suspects linked to the ISIL terror group in Ankara, security sources said on Jan. 29.

Anti-terror police carried out raids at the addresses of suspects, said sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects were in contact with people in conflict zones and were plotting terrorist attacks, according to the police.

Turkey deported four terrorists of French nationality back to their home country on Jan. 28, the Interior Ministry announced.

The terrorists were deported as part of Turkey's ramped-up efforts to repatriate foreign terrorist fighters, the ministry said in a written statement.

A Frenchman has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for seeking to recruit dozens of youths to fight as jihadists in Syria and for leading a brigade of French-speaking Islamists in the war-torn country.
Mourad Fares, 35, fled Syria in 2014, and was arrested in Turkey and handed over to French authorities the same year.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Jan. 21 Turkey is crucial in the fight against ISIL.

"No ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey. They are important in the fight against Daesh. They are the only ally which is bordering Syria and Iraq," he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

Stoltenberg's remarks came during a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels.

France will deploy the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its battle group from January to April to support French military operations in the Middle East, President Emmanuel Macron said on Jan. 16.