Nine Syria-bound British citizens, who were taken into custody on Wednesday in Turkey's southern provinces of Hatay and Gaziantep, are set to be sent back to Britain on Saturday, Turkish security authorities have said.

Turkish authorities had foiled their alleged attempts to enter Syria illegally to join militant groups, including the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS).

Turkish intelligence officers said on Friday that one of the British citizens had arrived in Turkey from Birmingham Airport on March 30.
Eight others, including four children, had arrived in Turkey from Manchester Airport on March 27.

They were not part of a watch list of alleged persons trying to travel to Syria.

Turkish authorities are continuing with the process which will ban their entry to Turkey in the future.

Cooperation between Turkish and U.K. police has intensified after three British girls from East London went missing in early February and reportedly arrived in Turkey to cross into Syria.

Turkey shares an 800-kilometer-long border with Syria.

Thousands of foreign fighters from all over the world are believed to have joined terrorist organizations, including ISIS, in Syria and Iraq.