Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim spoke to Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad about the trial of foreign ISIS members who have committed crimes in the region.

The minister said that his government would only take back the "own" ISIS members imprisoned in Syria. "We are only taking responsibility for our citizens, their wives and their children. For European ISIS members, we have neither the financial means nor the appropriate laws," Alhakim said.

At the end of March Iraq itself had offered to take over ISIS prisoners of European origin and to imprison them in special prisons. But the country expects economic, political and social support in return.

The EU states have been considering plans for the establishment of an International Criminal Court in Iraq to hear the crimes of foreign members of the ISIS. Iraq's proposal, however, does not seem acceptable to EU states because of the prospect of the execution of their own citizens.

“Iraq overburdened with terrorist cases”

According to Mohamed Ali Alhakim, the current legal situation in Iraq does not allow foreigners to be brought to justice for crimes committed outside its borders. European ISIS members could be tried only if are suspected of committing crimes in Iraq or of inciting others to do so. But Iraq is unlikely to be prepared to abolish the death penalty, Alhakim said. Remarking that the Iraqi government feels responsible only for its own citizens, he said other countries should do the same.

Iraq is also overburdened with terrorist cases, said the minister and continued; "The Hol camp in Syria houses a total of 70,000 IS members. 30,000 of them are Iraqis. Should a country like Iraq also take in the remaining 40,000 then? There is also a smaller camp with twelve to fifteen thousand ISIS members and another with 25,000 al-Nusra members. Each case would last two to three years. We don't have enough judges, courts and prisons for that. We are already worried about where to put the Iraqi ISIS members. More important, however, is the fact that our laws do not allow foreign members to be taken in," Alhakim said.

Autonomous administration demands special tribunal on the ground

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has been demanding for months that ISIS members be brought to justice where they have committed their crimes. For the establishment of a special tribunal in Rojava, however, logistical and legal support is necessary in order to be able to proceed in accordance with international conventions.

11,000 martyred, 25,000 wounded in war

In the fight against the ISIS, 11,000 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have fallen in Northern and Eastern Syria, and 25,000 more fighters have been injured.