Russia and Turkey Ready to Return Citizens Detained in Iraq in Connection with ISIS

Illustration of ISIS. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA)

JAKARTA - Russia and Turkey are preparing to repatriate their citizens who are currently being held in Iraqi prisons for joining ISIS.

The announcement from the two countries comes as Iraq looks to remove thousands of ISIS fighters who were recently moved from Syria in an operation led by the United States.

Iraq detained 5,704 ISIS fighters suspects from 61 countries. They include 160 Turkish citizens and 130 Russian citizens.

The Iraqi government said it would try the men on terrorism charges in its own legal system, but called on other countries, especially EU countries, to repatriate their citizens.

The Iraqi Embassy in Moscow said Russian Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Zubov expressed "his readiness to resolve the unresolved issues" regarding the prisoners, launching The National (27/2).

The minister "promised to open a direct communication channel with the embassy to simplify procedures, speed up steps, and ensure direct coordination on various mutually beneficial issues," the embassy said.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Monday that Baghdad had reached an agreement with Ankara on the repatriation of Turkish citizens, and was in talks with other countries.

Hussein said Iraq called on "countries around the world to repatriate their citizens involved in terrorism so that they can be tried in their home countries."

Turkey said it appreciated Baghdad's efforts to accommodate the prisoners. "It seems that there are also Turkish citizens among the prisoners. Turkey is ready to engage in dialogue with Iraqi authorities regarding Turkish citizens," a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.

"Iraq's efforts should serve as an example for the international community. It is very important that all foreign terrorist fighters be repatriated to their home countries."

The National revealed this month that the majority of the detainees are Syrian citizens, while Iraqis are the second largest group with 271 people. There are 208 people from Tunisia, 160 people from Turkey, 142 people from Morocco, and 100 people from Egypt. Other Arab, European and Asian countries are among the detained citizens.

Thousands of Iraqis and foreign nationals convicted of being linked to ISIS are already held in Iraqi prisons.

Iraqi officials are concerned about the resurgence of ISIS activity in the country. They fear the group will exploit security gaps in Syria after the escape of several prisoners during the chaotic takeover of the northeast by government forces.