Istanbul, June 16 () - Turkish soldiers have detained five men from Syria, supposedly Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, near the Akçakale crossing gate between Turkey and Syria.
The detentions, took place during unrest on the Syrian side of the frontier line, where thousands of Syrians fleeing the intensifying clashes wait to enter Turkey, when the men had tried to steal onto Turkish soil.
Backed by armored vehicles, Turkish soldiers reportedly took cover on the Turkish side of the border when the ISIL militants were engaged in a hunt with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) members.
When the five suspected ISIL men crossed the barbed wire to Turkey, soldiers detained them, Radikal news portal reported. After a body search, the five men were taken away in armored vehicles.
Fighting between Kurdish forces and ISIL has escalated in the last week, thanks to U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, which led thousands of people to flee the region and seek refuge in Turkey. Some 15,000 refugees crossed Turkey’s Akcakale border crossing, officials have said.
