Turkish authorities demand Germany take back 20 captured 'Islamic State' members

Turkey has demanded that 20 captured German members of "Islamic State" (IS) be repatriated, Deutsche Welle has reported.

"We need the full cooperation and active partnership of our allies in the fight against terrorism," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's communications director, Fahrettin Altun, told Germany's Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper in an interview published Monday.

According to the German Interior Ministry, more than 80 German IS members are imprisoned in Syria and Iraq.

In June, the German parliament approved a change in the law to allow dual nationals to lose their citizenship if they fight for a foreign terrorist militia. The new law would not apply retroactively, meaning those who already joined IS or have been captured won't lose their citizenship.

On Saturday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu criticized European states for not repatriating imprisoned IS members in Turkey.

"We are not a hotel for IS members from any country," he said.