CAIRO, Jan 11 (Aswat Masriya) - Turkish authorities confirmed to the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul that 12 Egyptian nationals were arrested in Turkey and accused of membership to the Islamic State group, the Egyptian consul told Aswat Masriya on Sunday.

Consul Bassam Rady said that will take the measures normally followed in cases involving Egyptians abroad. The consulate will assign lawyers to follow up on the questioning process, he added.

Turkey’s Anadolu Agency had reported Sunday that Turkey arrested 15 Egyptians and Russians, in addition to seven Turkish nationals, in the Turkish provinces of Adana and Elazig and were accused of membership in ISIS.

Rady told Aswat Masriya that Egypt’s authority in this domestic Turkish matter is not above that of Turkey.

He added that Egypt will ask that the arrested Egyptians be deported to Egypt after the completion of the Turkish investigation.  

Rady said that there is a large number of Egyptian and other nationals who enter Turkey illegally and are affiliated with ISIS and other extremist groups.

Turkish-Egyptian relations have been strained since the Egyptian military ousted Mohamed Mursi as president in July 2013, following mass protests against his rule. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been openly critical of the overthrow of Mursi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group.

In Nov. 2013, diplomatic relations between the two countries were downgraded to the level of charge d'affaires. 

Last April, Erdogan stated that before Ankara could consider improving ties with Cairo, Egypt should free Mursi from jail and lift its mass death sentences.

In Dec. 2014, Egypt imposed restrictions on Egyptians' travel to Turkey demanding potential travelers to acquire security approvals from the competent authorities.