Netherlands gives Turkey names of 100 possible jihadists travelling to Syria

The Netherlands has given Turkey a list of 100 possible militants who might travel to Syria to fight against regime forces, according to a report by Dutch daily Volkskrant.

The daily said all persons on the list will be refused entry if they arrive at the border, citing a police source. “Some of these people may already be in Turkey, or have traveled on to Syria. But if we find them, they will be deported,” the source said.

Ankara has long championed robust support for Syria’s fragmented opposition, but the growing influence of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in the war-torn country has left it open to accusations that it is backing radical Islamists. Thousands of European jihadists were recently blacklisted by Ankara, and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu vowed no tolerance for the groups last month, noting Turkey has also suffered from their activities.

A Dutch government official said June 16 recent military successes by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) will encourage a new wave of European jihadist fighters to join the conflict. “I’m concerned that ISIL has become an important group for jihadist fighters from the Netherlands and Europe,” said Dick Schoof, who heads the Dutch government’s anti-terror agency NCTV. “The success of ISIL will no doubt give a new impulse to travel there,” Schoof told Dutch state broadcaster NOS.