Australians held in Turkey over IS fears
Prime Minister Tony Abbott at a BBQ breakfast on the flight deck of HMAS Anzac, in the Dardanelles, Turkey. (AAP) AAP
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed Australians have been detained in Turkey, apparently trying to sneak into Syria to join Islamic State.
Mr Abbott didn't go into details.
He said Australians had been detained in Turkey "from time to time" but to say more would involve discussion of operational matters.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that two suspected Australian terrorists had been arrested in Turkey, though it didn't say when. They were believed to be still detained in Turkey.
Speaking from the deck of frigate HMAS Anzac off Gallipoli, he said there was already strong security and intelligence co-operation between Australia and Turkey.
"As a result, in part of this visit, I'm confident that co-operation will get stronger and stronger in the days and weeks and months ahead," he told reporters.
Mr Abbott said it helped Turkish authorities if countries from which terrorists were travelling could provide useful information.
He said Turkey now had its own protocols in place for assessing new arrivals to determine who might be up to no good.
"They are talking to those people on arrival. Quite significant numbers of people have ultimately been detained and deported," he said.
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