8 ISIS-affiliated Americans returning to U.S.
WND
Eight American women and children who were captured with ISIS are being returned to the United States by Kurdish authorities in northern Syria.
Two women and six children are to be returned at the request of the U.S. government and based on their own desire to return “without any pressure or coercion,” said Abdulkarim Omar, a senior official in the Kurdish self-rule administration, according to the Military Times.
U.S. officials have not commented, and it was unclear where in the U.S. they would be taken. Earlier this year, a woman and four children affiliated with ISIS were returned to the U.S.
Thousands of ISIS members and their families remain in camps and detention centers in northern Syria in the wake of the territorial defeat of ISIS.
Omar said any fighters or women accused of working with ISIS will remain in detention, pending trial. He insisted only “humanitarian cases” are being repatriated.
The Military Times said Kurdish authorities want to establish an international tribunal to prosecute the foreigners arrested during the five-year campaign against ISIS.
‘Extremely complicated’
Many Western nations have refused to repatriate their nationals, citing security concerns. The U.S. is urging Western countries to take their nationals back on a case-by-case basis.
Britain has stripped ISIS members of citizenship, while France has said it will repatriate only orphans, Agence France-Presse reported
A State Department spokeswoman told AFP the United States was aware of more purported American citizens in Syria. But the cases were “extremely complicated” due to logistics on the ground.
“We take seriously all legitimate claims of US citizenship, no matter where those claims are made, and work to verify and handle those claims on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
The U.S. rejected the high-profile appeal in February of Hoda Muthana, a woman from Alabama who joined ISIS. Though born in U.S. soil, Muthana was determined to not be a citizen, due to her father’s diplomatic status.
Article printed from WND: http://www.wnd.com
URL to article: http://www.wnd.com/2019/06/8-isis-affiliated-americans-returning-to-u-s/