Australian government said that one of its citizen believed to be a top recruiter for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been arrested by Turkish authorities and will be subject to a formal extradition request from Australia.
According to a statement by Australian government on Saturday, Neil Prakash, who was linked to several Australia-based attack plans, has been detained in Turkey and was being interrogated by Turkish authorities.
Melbourne-born Prakash appeared in ISIL videos and magazines and actively recruited Australian men, women and children and encouraged acts of terrorism, the Australian government said.
While Australia announced in last May that Prakash was killed in an airstrike in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29, based on a US intelligence, the New York Times reported on Friday that he had been wounded in the attack and survived. The Australian government subsequently confirmed he was alive.
Australia last year announced financial sanctions against Prakash, including threatening anyone giving financial assistance with punishment of up to 10 years in jail.