Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — An Islamic Jihad leader has been deported from the United States to Turkey.

Sami Al Arian was deported after a 12-year battle to remain in the United States. Al Arian, a former professor at the University of South Florida, was arrested in 2003 on charges of funding the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad, deemed a terrorist group by the State Department.

This marked the first report of a senior Jihad operative in Turkey, Middle East Newsline reported. Ankara has welcomed the Hamas leadership from Qatar, said to have been expelled in late 2014.

“Despite the long and arduous ordeal and hardships suffered by my family, I leave with no bitterness or resentment in my heart whatsoever,” Al Arian said.

Al Arian was placed on a commercial flight from Washington to Istanbul on Feb. 4. His attorney, Jonathan Turley, said Turkey would be Al Arian’s permanent home.

“Dr. Al Arian and his wife will start anew in Turkey,” Turley said.

  former University of South Florida professor, Jihad leader, resettles in Turkey, WorldTribune.com