ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) this week handed over a British woman and three children affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) to a visiting delegation from the United Kingdom.
UK’s Special Representative for Syria Ann Snow visited the Kurdish-led region and held discussions about the ongoing threat ISIS poses despite being territorially defeated five years ago, Rojava’s foreign affairs department said in a statement on Friday.
A British woman and three children linked with ISIS were handed over to the delegation on Wednesday, the statement added, without identifying the four people or clarifying where they were held before their repatriation. The Associated Press reported that they were last detained at Roj camp.
The British government has yet to comment on the rare repatriation of its nationals from Syria.
Thousands of people from around the world affiliated with ISIS live in camps in Rojava, the largest of which is the sprawling al-Hol camp that has more than 40,000 residents. The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the ISIS-linked people held at al-Hol. Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said in March that around 20,000 Iraqis below the age of 18 are still at al-Hol. He described them as “time bombs.”
Despite repeated calls from Rojava and American officials for governments to repatriate their citizens, only a few have done so. Earlier this month, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Finland repatriated a total of 22 of their citizens.
Iraq has repatriated nearly 9,000 of its nationals from the notorious camp so far, according to data collected by Rudaw English.
UK’s Special Representative for Syria Ann Snow visited the Kurdish-led region and held discussions about the ongoing threat ISIS poses despite being territorially defeated five years ago, Rojava’s foreign affairs department said in a statement on Friday.
A British woman and three children linked with ISIS were handed over to the delegation on Wednesday, the statement added, without identifying the four people or clarifying where they were held before their repatriation. The Associated Press reported that they were last detained at Roj camp.
The British government has yet to comment on the rare repatriation of its nationals from Syria.
Thousands of people from around the world affiliated with ISIS live in camps in Rojava, the largest of which is the sprawling al-Hol camp that has more than 40,000 residents. The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the ISIS-linked people held at al-Hol. Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said in March that around 20,000 Iraqis below the age of 18 are still at al-Hol. He described them as “time bombs.”
Despite repeated calls from Rojava and American officials for governments to repatriate their citizens, only a few have done so. Earlier this month, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Finland repatriated a total of 22 of their citizens.
Iraq has repatriated nearly 9,000 of its nationals from the notorious camp so far, according to data collected by Rudaw English.
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