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As many as 100 British jihadists are believed to be stranded in Turkey because they are too scared to return to the UK after leaving Islamic State militants.

Many of the disillusioned fighters are seeking to travel to countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh where their parents have roots because they fear imprisonment if they come back to Britain.

The jihadists are seeking an exit strategy from Syrian cities including Aleppo and Raqqa after becoming frustrated that they were fighting rival rebel factions as opposed to forces loyal to the country's President, Bashar Al-Assad, the Sunday Times reported.

A Whitehall official told the newspaper: “We understand there’s around 100 British jihadists who are waiting in limbo in Turkey before they can make their way to countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh and Algeria — countries where their parents were born and where they have the family support they need to settle in.

“The choices for these jihadists have become very limited — they don’t want to return to Syria because they would most likely be killed for defecting and they can’t come back to Britain without the prospect of being locked up.”

Around 500 Brits are believed to have travelled to Syria to fight for the brutal Islamic State terror group, the government estimates.

IS militants have been responsible for the brutal murders of two British citizens, Alan Henning and David Haines, prompting Briton to join air strikes against them in Iraq.

Professor Peter Neumann who works at King’s College London's International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence has previously suggested British jihadists fighting in Syria want to return to the UK.

He said: "The people we have been talking to … want to quit but feel trapped because all the Government is talking about is locking them up for 30 years."

Rami Abdelrahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Sunday Times his organisation knew of at least 40 British jihadists in Turkey.