Sweden appeals to Turkey to find ISIS-bound nationals

Sweden reportedly sought Turkey's assistance to locate three of its citizens who were trying to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Syria via Turkey, Reuters reported.

Quoting senior Turkish officials, the news agency said the trio, identified as Mohamed Qadar, Yasmin Said Ahmet and Abdelmoumenne Amin Ghezali, were deported on May 5 after they arrived in Istanbul from Stockholm. They attempted to enter the country again on May 12 from the Greek island of Kos but were deported again. Swedish authorities informed Turkey on May 15 that they may be in Bodrum, a southwestern Turkish town popular among foreign tourists, as their posts on social media indicated so. Reuters reported Turkish officials believe they were still on the Greek island located near the Turkish coast.

Turkey, neighboring Iraq and Syria, two countries where ISIS has a strong presence, has deported more than 1,300 foreigners seeking to join the militant group over the past year.

Admitting to the difficulty of controlling its lengthy border with Syria, Turkish authorities have called on the foreign militants' countries of origin to step up cooperation with them in order to prevent the influx, especially from European countries.

The case of three British teenage girls had sparked a dispute between Turkey and the U.K., as Britain claimed they informed Turkey before the trio traveled to the country to sneak into Syria. In turn, Turkey responded that it was too late when British officials notified them about the girls, who are still believed to be in Syria after they left England in February.