In this Oct. 11, 2014 image grab taken from a video by Aamaq News Agency, a Youtube channel which posts videos from areas under the Islamic State (IS) group’s control, allegedly shows an Islamic State group fighters running across a street under fire in Ain al-Arab, known by the Kurds as Kobane, on the Syria-Turkey border.

Istanbul: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said up to 700 Turkish nationals have joined the Islamic State group, sounding the alarm over the risk of attacks inside Turkey if the extremists return home.

“There are around 500-700 Turkish citizens who have joined the ranks of IS,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by Turkish media.

“A common concern about the foreign fighters is: What will happen when they return to their homeland? We have this concern too,” he said as he returned from a trip to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) which is only recognized by Turkey.

He added that Turkey had barred entry to around 7,250 people from abroad who were planning to join IS and said 1,160 would-be jihadis were also deported.

He added that Turkey is taking “extreme measures” to ensure security along its 911 km border with Syria but could never make it completely watertight. “A passage (into Syria) can always be found.”

Cavusoglu said Turkey was also an open target of IS because of its condemnation of the group as a “merciless terrorist organization that does not represent Islam in any way.”

“A country that speaks like this is of course an open target of terror. We therefore have to be cautious and take the necessary measures,” he said.

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