The Denizli Governor’s Office has confirmed media reports that an Islamic State commander injured in a bomb attack in northern Syria is being treated in a Turkish hospital in the border province of Antakya.
Emrah Cakan, a Turkish national, was admitted to Pamukkale University Hospital on Feb. 28, according to a statement released by Denizli province Governor’s office.
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They also said that the militant has every right to receive medical care as he is a Turkish citizen.
RT report: He was among 1,000 Turks, who joined the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), and quickly rose to the rank of a senior commander.
Cakan’s treatment “was started upon his own application,” the Denizli governor’s office said in a statement.
“The procedural acts concerning his injury were conducted by our border city during his entry to our country and they still continue. And his treatment continues as a part of his right to benefit from health services just like all our citizens,” it added.
Turkey has been heavily criticized for allowing foreign fighters to pass through its territory into neighboring Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. They have also faced a backlash for their reluctance to join the US-led coalition in fighting the militant group.
Niamh Harris