WATCH ABOVE: Turkey’s foreign minister says his country has caught a man who helped three British girls travel to Syria, to join ISIS, and Turkish media is suggesting the suspect worked with Canada’s intelligence agency. Mike Armstrong reports.
Canadian government sources say an individual Turkish authorities accuse of helping three British girls cross into Syria is not a Canadian citizen and is not an employee of the Canadian Intelligence Security Service (CSIS), despite Turkish reports suggesting otherwise.
The girls are believed to have travelled to Syria to join ISIS militants.
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Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in an interview with Turkey’s A Haber channel on Wednesday, said the individual was working for an intelligence agency of “a country involved in the coalition” against ISIS.
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“Do you know who the person who helped the girls turned out to be?” Cavusoglu said. “Someone who works for the intelligence service of a country that is part of the coalition.”
But Cavusoglu did not specify which country or agency the person in custody was connected to, other than to say it was not a U.S. or European Union country.
Canada is one of 13 countries involved in U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. Canadian jets are only carrying out missions over Iraq, while a team of Canadian special forces has been working on the ground to train Kurdish forces battling the Islamist group.
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He didn’t provide any further details on the suspect, but said he informed his British counterpart about the arrest.
Turkiye reporter Ceren Kenar said on Twitter a government source revealed the man worked “for Canadian intelligence service,” but that the suspect “is not a citizen of the country he is spying for.”
Turkey’s Daily Sabah, a pro-government news agency, reported a similar story that cited government sources.
According to the Daily Sabah, the Canadian embassy in Turkey would not comment on the situation.
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There has been worldwide attention and criticism surrounding the disappearance of the three teenage girls — 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase — who flew from London to Istanbul on Feb. 17 and are believed to have crossed into Syria after that, to join ISIS.
The three girls all attended the Behnal Green Academy, in East London.
The Guardian reported a classmate of the girls had already travelled to ISIS-held territory in Syria two months prior. The parents of the girls criticized authorities for not alerting them ahead of time.
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There has been tension between Turkey and Britain over who was to blame for the teenagers being able to sneak into Syria to join the extremist group, with Turkey accusing Britain of failing to notify authorities in time to prevent them from crossing the border.
With files from The Associated Press
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