Three UK teens that were suspected of making an attempt to join Islamic State militants (ISIS) in Syria have been arrested by the police in London after deportation from Turkey. The teen's names have not been released. London's Metropolitan Police said they have been arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. The teens were bailed out of jail and will be requested to return to the police station for questioning as the investigation furthers.
Police said they were alerted on Friday by parents that two 17-year old male teens were missing and that it was believed they were possibly attempting to travel to Syria.
Once an investigation was opened it was found that they were travelling with another 19-year-old male. Once caught in Turkey, they were detained and flown back to London on Saturday where they were arrested.
These arrested come on the tails of three teen girls from London,
It is estimated that nearly 700 UK citizens have travelled to Syria or to Iraq to join militant groups.
Officials have stated that Islamic extremists use social media to recruit teens and get them to travel to Syria in order to join the radical organisations. This has increased tensions that there will be attacks on UK soil if these citizens return home after being radicalized by the Islamic State militants.
Turkey has faced widespread criticism for not controlling their southeastern borders, yet they have issued more than 13,000 travel bans and deported nearly 2000 people who were under suspicion of wanting to travel to Syria.
They have also stepped up to stop foreign nationals from crossing into Syria.
A high-ranking Turkish official stated," Turkey is doing all that it can to stop the passage into Syria, but there has to be cooperation. This operation shows what can be achieved when there is cooperation."
Counter-terrorism police are advising parents to speak to their teens about how they feel about the war and to monitor their social media activity closely.
