Turkey formally requests Syrian Kurdish leader's extradition

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey has submitted documents to the Czech authorities formally requesting the extradition of the former leader of a Syrian Kurdish party, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Monday.

Salih Muslim, former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, was detained in the Czech capital of Prague on Saturday based on a Turkish request for his arrest.

Turkey considers the PYD a "terrorist group" linked to outlawed Kurdish insurgents fighting within Turkey's own borders.

Czech authorities said Muslim was arrested based on a request from Turkey's Interpol office. However an official at Interpol's headquarters in Lyon, France, said Monday that the police agency has not issued a worldwide red notice for his arrest.