- Shakil Ahmed said his 21-year-old son Waheed is a 'good Muslim'
- He said is 'shocked' and 'doesn't understand' what he is doing in Turkey
- He also urged son, a Manchester University student, to come home quickly
- Nine Britons were arrested on Turkey-Syria border and are now in custody
- Arrested Britons, all from Rochdale, are three men, two women and four children
One of the nine Britons detained in Turkey after allegedly trying to slip across the border to rebel-held Syria is the 21-year-old son of a prominent Labour councillor, it has emerged.
Shakil Ahmed said he was 'shocked, worried and extremely upset' that his son Waheed was among a group from Rochdale who were seized by Turkish security forces after illegally trying to enter the war-torn country to join ISIS.
In a statement, Rochdale councillor Mr Ahmed said that he believed his son, a student at Manchester University, had been on work placement in Birmingham.
But the undergraduate student was caught last night alongside eight others – including four young children – in a remote Turkish border town in Hatay province, trying to sneak across the border.
Laughing: Waheed Ahmed, the 21-year-old son of a Labour Councillor, is one of nine Britons who have been held by Turkish security officials are attempting to slip illegally into Syria in an apparent bid to join ISIS
'Shocked': Shakil Ahmed said he was 'shocked, worried and extremely upset' that his son was among the group and urged him to come home 'as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on'
In a statement, Rochdale councillor Mr Ahmed said that he believed his son, a student at Manchester University, had been on work placement in Birmingham
The councillor, who represents the Kingsway ward on Rochdale Borough Council, added that he wants his son to come home 'as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on'.
He told Sky News: 'My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there.
'If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised I would have reported him to the authorities.
'He's studying a degree in politics and sociology at Manchester University and has a good future ahead of him.'
Nine Britons – four of them children – who seized last night as they tried to slip across the border to an Islamic State stronghold in Syria.
The British nationals were detained by soldiers at a checkpoint in Ogulpinar as they made the final leg of their journey to join the terror group.
This afternoon Greater Manchester Police revealed that the group hail from the town of Rochdale. They are expected to be deported back to Britain 'in due course'.
It is believed the youngest of the four children is just a year old, with the eldest aged 11. The other two children are aged three and eight.
The three men and two women who tried to take them to Syria are aged 21, 22, 22, 24 and 47. The names of those detained have not yet been released, but they are understood to be related.
In a statement released this afternoon, Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: 'Officers have commenced an investigation to establish their reason for travel and apparent attempted entry into Syria.
The British nationals were detained by soldiers at a checkpoint in Ogulpinar as they made the final leg of their journey to join the terror group.
This afternoon Greater Manchester Police revealed that the group hail from the town of Rochdale. They are expected to be deported back to Britain 'in due course'.
It is believed the youngest of the four children is just a year old, with the eldest aged 11. The other two children are aged three and eight.
The three men and two women who tried to take them to Syria are aged 21, 22, 22, 24 and 47. The names of those detained have not yet been released, but they are understood to be related.
In a statement released this afternoon, Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: 'Officers have commenced an investigation to establish their reason for travel and apparent attempted entry into Syria.
Held: Nine Britons - four of them children – were seized by Turkish security forces last night as they tried to slip across the border to an Islamic State stronghold in Syria
The detained Britons arrive at a hospital to undergo medical checks and fingerprinting in Hatay, south Turkey
'At this time officers have uncovered no evidence whatsoever of any imminent threat to the communities of Rochdale or indeed the UK,' he said.
'What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone; such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever,' he added.
'One of our primary concerns is the safety and welfare of the young children and we are working with partners to ensure a full safeguarding strategy is in place upon their return to the UK,' he said.
'I would also like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of their responsibility to help us in our fight against extremism and prevent anyone thinking of travelling to Syria or other warzones from going,' he went on to say.
Detained: Footage released earlier shows the Britons arriving at a police station in Turkey's southern Hatay province, where they are understood to have been kept overnight
Footage released earlier today shows the Britons arriving at a police station in Turkey's southern Hatay province, where they are understood to have been kept overnight.
The group - which includes three men, two women and four children - were arrested yesterday in the province, which shares a border with war-torn Syria.
Turkish MP Mehmet Ali Ediboglu said last night: 'They are being held at a paramilitary outpost. Probably, they will be deported to their country tomorrow.'
The Foreign Office said it is in contact with the Turkish authorities.
Iman Irfan Chishti, of the Rochdale Council of Mosques, said: 'We are shocked to hear this has happened in our town. Rochdale has had its fair share of negative publicity of late, given the grooming issue, and this is the last thing we need.'
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: 'The news that nine people from Rochdale including children have been arrested in Turkey trying to get into Syria is deeply worrying.
'The idea you can take young children into a war zone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this.'
The detained Britons leave a hospital in Hatay after undergoing a medical check up and fingerprinting
The three men, two women and four children were detained by soldiers at a checkpoint in Ogulpinar
Smirking: The nine British citizens, including 4 children, were detained in Turkey's southern Hatay and Gaziantep provinces yesterday as authorities foiled their alleged attempts to enter Syria illegally
According to Sky News, Turkish MP Mehmet Ali Ediboglu said last night: 'They are being held at a paramilitary outpost. Probably, they will be deported to their country tomorrow''
Turkey is a key staging ground for foreign fighters hoping to reach ISIS-held areas of Syria and Iraq.
The arrests came as Scotland Yard revealed counter terrorism officers detained a 19-year-old at Luton Airport as he returned from Istanbul yesterday.
Yahya Rashid is suspected of acting as an Islamic State smuggler, paying for four men and a woman to join the terrorist group in Syria.
Rashid is accused of accompanying the group as they travelled to Morocco and then on to Turkey in November. They are thought to have slipped across the border into Syria before Rashid flew home.
Rashid was remanded in custody by Westminster magistrates yesterday to appear at the Old Bailey accused of preparing to commit an act of terror and assisting others in preparing to commit acts of terror.
Last month three young men were detained at the Turkey-Syria border after being tracked down after police were given a tip-off about their alleged plan to enter the country.
A woman was also arrested at the border in March on a separate occasion.
Meanwhile, in February, police launched an international manhunt for three schoolgirls who went missing from their east London homes.
Bethnal Green Academy pupils Shamima Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana are now believed to be inside Syria after flying to Turkey on a well-trodden path to the country.
Turkey is a key staging ground for foreign fighters attempting to reach ISIS-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq
A British woman holding a child is seen arriving at a hospital in Turkey to undergo a medical check up
Once they had their medical checks, the family were fingerprinted and taken back to a police station
The Foreign Office said it has been communicating with Turkish officials over the detention of the nine people
It is understood they were following another 15-year-old girl who travelled there in December. A High Court judge has since confiscated the passports of four other pupils at the school after concerns were raised by Tower Hamlets Council.
The Metropolitan Police believe around 600 Britons have travelled to Syria and Iraq since the conflict began, while around half are believed to have returned to the UK.
More than 22,000 foreign fighters are now believed to have joined Islamic State from around 100 countries.
Yesterday a senior prosecutor revealed that British headteachers fear children may use the Easter break to try to flee to Syria to join IS.
Nazir Afzal said two heads had told him of more than a dozen teenage boys and girls thought to have been 'groomed and seduced' by jihadists.
Police had not been told because the unnamed secondary schools – one in East London and one in West London – did not want them placed under investigation, said Mr Afzal, former chief prosecutor for the North West.
Mr Afzal, who spearheaded the prosecutions of Muslim gangs who groomed underage girls in Rochdale, said: '[IS] terrorists are deluded, narcissistic, glory-hunting inadequates who call themselves soldiers, but they're selling themselves with professionally made videos that make them seem glamorous and sexy.
'Isn't that what groomers do? They make these kids feel wanted and loved, they tell them they understand them and they distance them from their friends and family.'
Fleeing to Syria: Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamina Begum at Gatwick in February
The Metropolitan Police believe around 600 Britons have travelled to Syria and Iraq since the conflict began, while around half are believed to have returned to the UK.
The news comes as ISIS militants infiltrated a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, marking the terrorist group's deepest foray the Syrian capital and seat of President Bashar Assad's power.
ISIS entered the Yarmouk camp as Jordan closed its only functioning border crossing with the country following heavy clashes on the Syrian side between rebels and government forces.
The militants, who already control large swaths of territory in northern Syria, reportedly entered the camp from the nearby Hajar Aswad neighborhood in southern Damascus in a coordinated attack with their rivals in the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
According to the the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, ISIS managed to take control of large parts of the Yarmouk camp following clashes with a Palestinian group.
If ISIS manage to gain full control of Yarmouk, the jihadis can potentially use the camp as a base from which to threaten the heart of the capital as possibly challenge Assad himself.
The Palestinian-run refugee camp has been under government siege for nearly two years.
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