ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A total of 15 Spanish nationals with links to the Islamic State (ISIS) were repatriated from Syria following a visit by a delegation from Spain to the autonomous Kurdish administration in Syria’s northeast (Rojava).
Two women and 13 children from ISIS families were handed over to the Spanish delegation at the end of the meeting, according to a statement from the administration, without specifying whether they were residing in al-Hol camp or Roj camp.
The delegation, headed by Guillermo Anguera an advisor at the Spanish foreign ministry, expressed its gratitude to the administration and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for “maintaining the security and stability of the region and combating ISIS,” reiterating Spain’s support for the Kurdish administration, the statement added.
The SDF arrested thousands of ISIS fighters along with their wives and children when they took control of the group's last stronghold in Syria in March 2019.
Over 50,000 ISIS-linked people are held in the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka. Thousands others are kept in Roj camp.
Al-Hol camp has been branded a breeding ground for ISIS and described as a "ticking time bomb" by Kurdish and Iraqi authorities.
Ivan Fayaq, Iraq’s displacement and migration minister, told reporters in late December that Iraq is set to repatriate more than 150 people from al-Hol camp at the beginning of 2023.
Two women and 13 children from ISIS families were handed over to the Spanish delegation at the end of the meeting, according to a statement from the administration, without specifying whether they were residing in al-Hol camp or Roj camp.
The delegation, headed by Guillermo Anguera an advisor at the Spanish foreign ministry, expressed its gratitude to the administration and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for “maintaining the security and stability of the region and combating ISIS,” reiterating Spain’s support for the Kurdish administration, the statement added.
The SDF arrested thousands of ISIS fighters along with their wives and children when they took control of the group's last stronghold in Syria in March 2019.
Over 50,000 ISIS-linked people are held in the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka. Thousands others are kept in Roj camp.
Al-Hol camp has been branded a breeding ground for ISIS and described as a "ticking time bomb" by Kurdish and Iraqi authorities.
Ivan Fayaq, Iraq’s displacement and migration minister, told reporters in late December that Iraq is set to repatriate more than 150 people from al-Hol camp at the beginning of 2023.
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