Turkish authorities have detained eight suspected members of the Islamic State (ISIS) who allegedly tried to sneak into Europe under the guise of "refugees." The men were in possession of hand-drawn maps plotting the course from Turkey to Germany.
The suspected ISIS members were apprehended at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport after they flew in from Moroccan city of Casablanca on Tuesday, according to Turkey's Anatolia news agency.
Police figured that the hand-written note on one of the suspects details a migration route from Istanbul to Germany via Greece, Serbia and Hungary, including smuggler boats across the Mediterranean Sea, as well as several train and bus journeys, the news agency said, according to WND.
When questioned by police, the eight men claimed they were just tourists who had been planning to spend a few days in Istanbul and had booked rooms at a hotel. No reservations were found under their names, the Daily Mail reported.
The latest incident comes a day after it was revealed that eight migrants have reached the E.U. using passports identical to the fake one found on one of the Paris suicide bombers.
The news also adds fuel to the raging controversy over US President Barack Obama's plans to accept 10,000 more Syrian refugees for permanent resettlement in the U.S., said WND.
On Wednesday, Obama rolled out a #RefugeesWelcome hashtag on Twitter, a day after he reportedly tried to publicly shame all those in Congress who were concerned about security issues in the wake of the Paris attacks.
But some members of the Congress such as Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, have been sounding the alarm about the security concerns since January this year. Twenty-seven Republican governors have also announced they don't want to accept the refugees because of concerns by the F.B.I. about difficulties in vetting them, said WND.
The arrest of the men also raises fears that they could be part of a terror cell plotting an attack on Germany after ISIS posted a new video online threatening more Paris-style massacres, the Express reported.
Last February, an ISIS terrorist admitted that the jihadist army had already infiltrated Europe with more than 4,000 fighters who are trained and ready to launch attacks on a moment's notice, said the report.
Around 4 million refugees have been created as a result of the four-year Syrian civil war. Most of these refugees stay in camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The camps are loaded with mainly Muslims who have abused, threatened and scared away most of the Christian refugees who are fleeing ISIS, independent sources told WND.
Turkey is the main launching point for migrants coming to Europe, and currently hosts over two million Syrian refugees, said the Daily Mail.
