American IS suspect awaits repatriation from Turkey

A man identified by Turkish news reports as a U.S. citizen who has been deported by Turkey and is now stuck in the heavily militarized no-man’s land between Greece and Turkey, after Greece refused to take him in, near Pazarkule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, on Monday, November 11, 2019. Ankara began deporting captured foreign IS fighters, and asked to comment on the reports, Erdogan said: “Whether they are stuck there at the border it doesn’t concern us. We will continue to send them. Whether they take them or not, it is not our concern.” (DHA via AP)

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s state-run media said an American man suspected of being an Islamic State group member remains in no man’s land on the border between Turkey and Greece for the fifth day.

Anadolu Agency reported the man was seen Friday between Turkey’s Pazarkule border gate and the Greek frontier at Kastanies. On Thursday, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said repatriation was underway after the U.S. agreed to accept him and provided travel documents.

He has been identified by local media as 39-year-old Muhammad Darwis B., a U.S. citizen of Jordanian origin.

The man has been waiting in the heavily militarized border zone since November 11. He initially asked to be sent to Greece from Turkey, but Athens refused to take him in.

Edited by KGA