ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey acknowledged Sunday that Hayat Boumeddiene, wanted in connection with the Paris terror attacks, had escaped to Syria through Turkey.
Turkey´s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that “Preventing terrorists not to use Turkey's soil to cross into Syria is complicated.”
“Millions of tourists visit Turkey annually, and if we do not have information before, of course preventing terrorists will not be easy,” Davutoglu said in response to a question about whether Boumeddiene had crossed into Syria.
French media and Police have announced that Boumeddiene, 26, had left France on January 2 and entered Syria from Turkey six days later.
She is linked to gunman Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed by police after storming a kosher market in Paris on Friday, killing four hostages there and a policewoman the day before.
In a video that has surfaced Coulibaly, Boumeddiene´s partner, pledges allegiance to the Islamic State, which since last summer has taken control of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
Boumeddiene is believed by French police to have served as the communication link between Coulibaly and brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, who attacked the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices and were killed by police.
Ankara has been under pressure to tighten its porous border, used by radicals to cross into Syria for jihad.
Davutoglu spoke to reporters at Ankara airport, before leaving for a demonstration in Paris to honor vicitms of the terrorist attacks.
“With our presence in the demonstrations in Paris, we will have a powerful answer for those seizing the opportunities to attack the Islam” Davutoglu said.
World leaders and crowds were gathered in Paris to show support for the victims.
The Paris demonstration includes Muslim and European leaders, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu are also expected to take part.
Three days of terrorist attacks in France began with an attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, where 12 people were killed. The killing spree ended with hostage-taking at a Jewish market, where four people died.
.png&w=3840&q=75)
.png&w=3840&q=75)
