ANKARA– An affidavit from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed how Turkey served as a crucial transit hub for foreign fighters attempting to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The case centers on 38-year-old Mohamed Fathy Suliman, a US citizen who traveled from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Istanbul Airport (IST) before making his way toward the Syrian border.
Filed in the Northern District of Florida, the FBI report details how Suliman used Turkish Airlines (TK) for his initial journey and later purchased a domestic ticket to Gaziantep Airport (GZT), a city located approximately 35 miles from Syria. Instead of taking his scheduled flight from Istanbul to Alexandria (HBE), Suliman paid cash for the border-city flight, a route historically used by ISIS recruits between 2013 and 2015.
Photo: By Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia – Turkish Airlines, TC-JOE, Airbus A330-303, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115995460Turkey’s Border as a Gateway to Syria
According to the affidavit, Suliman admitted during a 2018 interview at the US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, that he had studied ISIS-linked online guides explaining how to reach Syria.
The instructions advised flying into Istanbul, then traveling south to cities like Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, or Kilis. Once there, recruits were told to stay in local hotels and contact smugglers who could guide them through unofficial border crossings.
From 2013 to 2015, Turkey’s southeastern provinces became strategic staging areas for foreign fighters. Smugglers moved recruits from bus stations to rural crossing points, bypassing immigration checks.
The FBI notes that Turkish authorities often release detained fighters shortly after arrest, allowing them to continue toward Syria.
People on a Street Demonstration in Syria; Photo- PexelsArrest Near Kilis and Deportation to Sudan
On June 14, 2014, Suliman was caught by Turkish border guards in Kilis province between border markers 501 and 502, near the East-5 watchtower, while attempting to cross into Syria at night.
He was in a group of foreign nationals who had each paid $50 to a driver for transport to the crossing. Kilis, located about 40 miles from Aleppo, was then one of ISIS’s main entry routes.
Suliman spent 10 days in Turkish detention, where he was fingerprinted and fined 2,000 lira (about $900). Instead of informing the US Consulate, Turkish authorities, at Suliman’s request, deported him to Sudan on June 19, 2014. He flew from Gaziantep to Istanbul and then to Khartoum on Turkish Airlines, paying in cash for the tickets.
Prior Terror-Linked Travel Attempts
Suliman had been monitored by US authorities for years before his 2014 attempt to join ISIS. In 2009, he was detained while trying to enter Somalia to join al-Shabaab.
His travel record placed him on a US security watchlist, and in 2011, Turkish authorities prevented him from boarding a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York.
During a US Consulate interview in Istanbul in 2011, Suliman claimed to suffer from bipolar disorder, panic attacks, and depression.
He admitted that his trip to Somalia occurred after he stopped taking prescribed medication. Despite these warnings, he was not flagged when he bought a one-way ticket to Turkey in 2014, abandoned his onward flight, and booked a domestic flight to Gaziantep.
Turkey’s Political Context and Border Policy
The affidavit highlights that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), acting under government orders, facilitated the movement of foreign fighters into Syria during the early years of the Syrian conflict.
The goal was to weaken Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but the policy caused tension with the Turkish military, which opposed support for extremist factions.
Military officers critical of the government’s stance were removed following the July 2016 coup attempt. Analysts have described the coup as a pretext for purging dissent within the armed forces, including those who objected to Ankara’s border policy.
Photo: Francesco BandarinA Case Study in ISIS Transit Networks
The FBI concluded that Suliman’s travel mirrored the patterns of numerous foreign fighters. Many arrived in Istanbul via commercial flights, traveled south by plane or bus, and then used smugglers to cross the Syrian border.
From rural paths to olive groves and river crossings, the routes were well known among jihadist networks.
FBI Special Agent R. David Collins stated that Kilis was a key overland route for ISIS travel both into and out of Syria. The agent noted that the methods used by Suliman were consistent with similar cases of foreign fighters who exploited Turkey’s geography and infrastructure.
Trial, Plea, and Sentencing
In September 2020, Suliman was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
He was arraigned in March 2021, and in April 2023, he pleaded guilty in exchange for prosecutors dropping additional charges.
In October 2023, a federal judge sentenced him to three years in prison, followed by supervised release for the rest of his life. The case remains a clear example of how ISIS leveraged Turkey’s open transit routes during its peak territorial expansion in Syria and Iraq.
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