This French Jihadi Just Had the Ultimate Bad Hair Day

Turkish authorities claim they arrested a Frenchman plotting a terrorist attack after he sought hair treatment at a Turkish salon.

Screen Shot 2015-11-12 at 2.07.21 PM
Screen Shot 2015-11-12 at 2.07.21 PM

Have you heard the one about the French Islamic State militant who walked into a Turkish barbershop? Not to ruin the punch line, but he gets caught by the police.

Have you heard the one about the French Islamic State militant who walked into a Turkish barbershop? Not to ruin the punch line, but he gets caught by the police.

Mehdibend Said, a balding Frenchman under surveillance by Turkish authorities for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack there, was arrested in the town of Izmir Wednesday after he sought hair treatment at a local beauty salon.

According to the Turkish Dogan news agency, the initial hair treatment was only one of the cosmetic procedures he had booked. He reportedly told police the next one was sure to make him “look better.” 

Said, who had been under close watch by Turkish police since he entered the country from Syria, was arrested after intelligence officers followed him to the clinic where he planned to treat his bald spots. Details about what his planned terrorist plot entailed were not immediately available.

Since 2011, Turkey has taken in more than 1 million refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria, but has also been on high alert for terrorists crossing the borders amid throngs of asylum-seekers. The country has been on especially high alert since Islamic State militants took credit for a deadly bombing at an Ankara peace rally in October, which killed 102.

Last week, 20 suspected Islamic State members were arrested in Antalya, not far from a resort that will host next week’s G-20 summit of world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Photo credit: Twitter

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.