Caravanserai

Iraq said to be holding Tajik 'Islamic State' militants' wives, children

Caravanserai

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi authorities have detained 1,400 foreign wives and children of suspected "Islamic State" (IS) members, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Monday (September 11), quoting security officials and aid workers.

No more than 10 of those female and/or juvenile detainees are Tajik nationals, the Norwegian Refugee Council told RFE/RL's Tajik service, according to another report published Monday.

The foreign detainees are all in custody in a camp south of Mosul. The women and children are the relatives of IS militants whom troops expelled from various locations, including Mosul.

When those defeated militants surrendered to Kurdish Peshmerga forces in late August, the Peshmerga handed over the women and children to Iraqi authorities and kept the militants, reported Avesta.tj Monday.

Tajikistan is seeking to repatriate any Tajik nationals held in the camp, a source in the country's General Prosecutor's Office told RFE/RL's Tajik service, adding that it wants to learn from Kazakhstan's experience. Kazakhstan sends teams of security personnel to Syria and Iraq to identify the abandoned families of Kazakhstani IS militants.

Do you like this article?

0 Comment(s)

Comment Policy * Denotes Required Field 1500 / 1500