( CNN ) Nine British citizens were arrested in Turkey on Wednesday , suspected of trying to cross illegally into Syria , the Turkish military said on its website . The group included four children -- the oldest being 10 or 11 , with the youngest born in 2013 , a Turkish official told CNN on condition of anonymity . The nine were arrested at the Turkey-Syria border , the Turkish military said . It did n't say why the group allegedly was trying to get into Syria , which has been torn by a roughly four-year war between Syrian government forces and Islamist extremist groups and other rebels . Among the war 's combatants is ISIS , which has taken over parts of Syria and Iraq for what it claims is its Islamic caliphate , and which is known to have been recruiting Westerners . Accompanying the children were three men and two women ; all nine had British passports , the Turkish official said . UK police charge man with terror offenses after Turkey trip . The British Foreign Office said Wednesday that it is aware of reports of the arrests and that it is seeking information about the incident from Turkish authorities . CNN 's Gul Tuysuz reported from Istanbul , and Elaine Ly reported from London . CNN 's Jason Hanna contributed to this report .
The group included four children , Turkish official says . Comment: UK Foreign Office says it is trying to get information from Turkish officials .