Russia takes back 32 children of ISIS members in Iraq

Many ISIS members with Russian citizenship are imprisoned in Iraqi prisons. The Kremlin has announced the return of 32 children of the prisoners.

In a written statement, the Russian Ministry of Health announced that a total of 32 children of ISIS members of Russian nationality currently detained in Iraq have been returned to the country. With the latest group, the government in Moscow has since December 2018 retrieved a total of 122 children aged between one and twelve from Iraq or Syria.

It is estimated that there are currently about 2,000 women and children of ISIS members from Russia still in Syria or Iraq. Among the foreign ISIS jihadists in the two countries, Russian citizens occupy the leading position. Most of them come from Chechnya or other areas of the Caucasus.