Turkey detains, deports French national heading to Syria

Ankara: An official says Turkish authorities have deported a French national who was detained at an Istanbul airport on suspicion that he planned to join militants fighting in Syria.

The government official said on Saturday the man arrived at Sabiha Gokcen airport from Milan on Thursday, and was deported back to Italy after he confessed that he had planned to join a terror group in Syria.

The Turkish official spoke on condition of anonymity because of rules requiring authorisation for comment.

The man, identified only by his initials B.T., is the latest European to have been detained in Turkey en route to Syria following increased cooperation between Turkey and European governments to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Syria.