Three ISIS-linked families arrive in Finland from Hol Camp

Around 10 Finnish women and their 30 children have been staying at the al-Hol camp, in the special area for ISIS-linked families. It is believed the Finnish women were married to ISIS fighters.

The Finnish largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, said that three families (3 women and 9 children) linked to ISIS arrived in the country from Hol refugee camp in Northern Syria.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed their arrival wasn’t part of an official repatriation effort, but that they made their own way to the Finnish Embassy in Ankara.

The three women and nine children arrived to Finland, after being issued travel documents by the Finnish Embassy.

According to the constitution no Finn can be denied a right of entry into the country and the ministry says the families paid their own flights back to Helsinki via Minsk.

Around 10 Finnish women and their 30 children have been staying at the al-Hol camp, in the special area for ISIS-linked families. It is believed the Finnish women were married to ISIS fighters.

The ministry says the women and children were assisted "in accordance with the Consular Services Act" and their return to Finland was arranged "in cooperation with the Turkish authorities."

Pekka Puustinen, Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a press conference to confirm the women and children are in good health but refrained from explaining how they managed to escape from the camp and how they made it to Turkey. Puustinen did not say where the families will be staying.