Iraqi authorities announced on Monday the deportation of 33 Russian children whose mothers are being held in Iraq for belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group, like reported by iraqinews.com.
The deportation of the Russian children came after high-level coordination with the Russian Embassy in Baghdad, the foreign ministry’s spokesman Ahmed al-Sahhaf said in a press statement.
He added that strenuous efforts are being exerted among all parties concerned in Iraq to facilitate the return of Islamic State fighters’ children to their home lands.
Baghdad is currently conducting trials for hundreds of foreign women who Iraqi troops detained during military operations to liberate the country from the grip of the militants over the past few years.
Following the emergence of the extremist group in Iraq and Syria in 2014, thousands of foreign nationals joined IS. Accompanying them were women who came from different parts of the world.
Officials from Iraq’s Interior Ministry previously said they had contacted home countries to facilitate the return of the foreign prisoners. However, most Western countries prefer that their nationals remain in Iraq and be brought to justice.
According to Iraq’s counterterrorism law, aiding or membership in the extremist group carries the penalty of life in prison or death.
