Turkey helps ISIL recruit militants: Russia
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Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin ©AFP
The Russian ambassador to the UN says Turkey is assisting ISIL terrorists in recruiting fellow Takfiris from the Caucasus and Central Asia to join the foreign-backed militancy in Syria.
Vitaly Churkin made the comments in a February 10 letter sent to the UN Security Council, explaining that ISIL recruiters have supposedly formed a network in the Turkish city of Antalya for foreign militants from the former Soviet Union, AFP reported on Thursday.
According to the letter, a Russian national identified as Ruslan Rastyamovich Khaibullov, who lives in Antalya and has Turkish permanent residence, is leading the network.
He further noted that last September, 1,000 ISIL terrorists from Europe and Central Asia entered Syria from Turkey through the border crossing at Gaziantep.
The recruiters in Turkish detention centers are said to connect lawyers with foreigners who agree to join the ranks of ISIL when they are set free.
Russia has accused the Turkish intelligence of helping to take ISIL extremists from Syria to Yemen through Turkey via Turkish military air transport, or by sea to Yemen’s port of Aden.
The Turkish mission to the UN is yet to respond to the letter.
ME
