ANKARA, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 Turkish nationals out of 600, who joined the ranks of Islamic State (IS), were killed in clashes, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday citing intelligence estimates.
Turkish government banned some 7,000 foreigners from entering Turkey and deported at least 1,100 foreigners on suspicions that they may join the jihadists group in Syria.
The Turkish state had made efforts to prevent both recruit of the Turkish citizens to the IS and crossings fighters through Turkish territory, Cavusoglu said in reply to questions by lawmakers at the parliament on late Monday.
Yet, the foreign minister stressed that third countries, particularly the EU member states, should share intelligence with Ankara over the possible foreigners aiming to join the IS.
"It's unfair to expect Turkey, which has nearly 1000-km-long border with Syria and Iraq, to fight this challenge single-handed," Cavusoglu said.
Turkey designated the IS as a terrorist organization in 2013, followed this year by the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.
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