Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir confirmed that the sixteen Indonesians attempting to cross into Syria from a border area in Gaziantep City in Turkey are not the tourists who went missing on February 26.
"The sixteen Indonesians, who were arrested in Gaziantep city, are not the sixteen tourists who separated from a tour group," Nasir clarified here on Friday. "But yes, they are Indonesian citizens," he added.
The sixteen people, comprising a man, four women, three girls, and eight boys, who were arrested by Turkish authorities, are now being held at Gaziantep City's detention house.
Based on results of the interrogation, the 16 people admitted that they were attempting to cross into Syria, according to Nasir. Nasir stated that the Indonesian government will send a security team to Turkey to carry out further investigation and enhance cooperation with their Turkish counterparts.
Earlier, on Thursday (March 12), according to Turkey's Cihan News Agency, Spokesperson of Turkey's Foreign Affairs Ministry Tanju Bilgic has confirmed that the location where the sixteen Indonesians were caught has been a route used frequently by ISIS sympathizers.
Previously, sixteen Indonesian nationals with tourist visas reportedly went missing from a tour group in Turkey, raising speculations whether they were abducted or they intentionally separated from the tour group. (WDY)
