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TERRORISM

Baby of French woman linked to Isis dies on plane

The 5-month old, who had been born premature, died on a plane while his mother was being deported to France over suspected links to Isis.

Baby of French woman linked to Isis dies on plane
File photo of a Turkish aeroplane. Photo: AFP

The baby of a French woman of Syrian origin died on a Turkish plane while his mother was being deported to France from Turkey over suspected ties to Isis, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

Five-month-old Muhammed al-Amin Mahiev died of heart failure while travelling with his mother Iman Mahiev on an internal Turkish Airlines flight from the southeastern city of Gaziantep to Istanbul, a diplomatic source in Turkey told AFP.

From Istanbul, they were both to have been be put on another plane for France. Both are French citizens. The mother was being deported to France after being detained by the Turkish authorities close to the Syrian border over suspected ties to Isis jihadists, the diplomatic source said.

The baby had been born premature. Turkish media reports said despite efforts to save him the baby died just after the plane landed in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.

The mother and son had been escorted on board the Gaziantep-Istanbul flight by Turkish police officers. Gaziantep lies just near the border with Syria and has in the past been a major gateway for those seeking to link up with Isis jihadists whose strongholds are in the northern part of the war-torn country.

Long criticized for not doing enough to stem the flow of jihadist fighters across its volatile border with Syria, Turkey stepped up the fight after a number of deadly attacks on Turkish soil blamed on IS, making almost daily arrests of would-be jihadists. 

The Turkish security forces regularly detain foreigners along the border with Syria then deport them back to their home countries.

TERRORISM

Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

Police in Milan said on Thursday they had arrested a 37-year-old Algerian man in the subway, later discovering he was wanted for alleged ties to Islamic State.

Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

When stopped by police officers for a routine check, the man became “particularly aggressive”, said police in Milan, who added the arrest took place “in recent days”.

He was “repeatedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while attempting to grab from his backpack an object that turned out to be a knife with a blade more than 12cm (nearly five inches) long,” they said in a statement.

The man was later found to be wanted by authorities in Algeria, suspected since 2015 of belonging to “Islamic State militias and employed in the Syrian-Iraqi theatre of war,” police said.

Police said the suspect was unknown to Italian authorities.

The man is currently in Milan’s San Vittore prison and awaiting extradition, they added.

Jihadist group IS proclaimed a “caliphate” in 2014 across swathes of Syria and Iraq, launching a reign of terror that continues with hit-and-run attacks and ambushes.

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