Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — The French interior minister held talks here after Turkey sent three insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and then Levant to Marseille rather than Paris allowing them to escape.

NATO has expressed increasing concern over the use of Turkey by the ISIL.

Ankara has been the only NATO member to refuse to participate in the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

France has been deemed a leading recruitment ground for ISIL. Officials said hundreds of French nationals joined ISIL as well as Al Qaida’s Nusra Front for the Defense of the Levant, most of whom arrived in Syria via Turkey.

In August 2014, Turkey arrested three alleged French recruits of ISIL and sent them to France, where they walked away without being stopped by police.

France and Turkey have agreed to intensify counter-insurgency cooperation.

Officials said France and Turkey would enhance their intelligence exchange. They said the exchange would focus on counter-insurgency, particularly against ISIL.

“Combating terrorist activities should be our mutual goal and we need to enhance our cooperation and communication in this regard,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

On Sept. 26, Cazeneuve held talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart, Efkan Ala. Officials said the two interior ministers discussed the flow of recruits for ISIL and other Islamic insurgency groups for the
wars in Iraq and Syria.

For his part, Ala said Turkey was playing a significant role in tracking foreign recruits for ISIL. He said Ankara banned entry to 6,620 people from 81 countries, and deported more than 1,000 from 73 countries.

Still, officials acknowledged French dismay over the extradition of the three suspected ISIL fighters.

Turkey sent the French suspects to Marseille rather than Paris, where authorities were waiting. The recruits were not detected in Marseille airport.

“This malfunction between Turkish and French services deserves comprehensive consultation between the French and Turkish authorities so that such incidents do not occur again,” Cazeneuve said.

“We also discussed the issue of safer extradition of French nationals who are terror suspects,” Cazeneuve said.

“Turkey has always assumed an unflinching stance towards combating terror organizations and foreign fighters,” Ala said. “However, we expect countries of origin to prevent identified foreign fighters from leaving their countries in the first place, and inform Turkey in time.”

  Bernard Cazenueve, Efkan Ala, France, Fugitives: Turkey sent ISIL insurgents to Marseille while French police waited at Paris airport, Nusra Front