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UK police arrest terror suspect at Heathrow Airport

November 14, 2019 at 6:02 pm

A British Airways electronic timetable board inside Heathrow airport Terminal 5 on 29 May 2017 [Ray Tang/Anadolu Agency]

British police on Thursday said a 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences upon his arrival at the Heathrow Airport, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have today, 14 November, arrested a man on suspicion of terrorism offences,” a statement from the Metropolitan Police said.

The man was arrested “after arriving at Heathrow airport on an inbound flight to the UK from Turkey,” and “the arrest is Syria-related,” according to the statement.

The man was arrested on “suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts” and he will remain in police custody, it said.

Earlier, Turkey had said it was deporting a UK citizen who was under their custody for being a member of terrorist organization Daesh.

READ: Thousands of Daesh detainees in Syria a ‘ticking time-bomb’

The legal process continues to repatriate foreign terrorists to their home countries, the Turkey’s Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

A foreign terrorist fighter of British nationality was sent back to London, while seven from Germany were sent to Berlin, according to a ministry statement.

The issue of handling of Daesh members and their families detained in Syria — including foreign members of the terror group — has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists should be repatriated to their countries of origin.

Ankara has said that it will send Daesh members back to their countries, but several European countries have refused, saying the terrorists were denationalized.