Baghdad to Only Take Back Iraqi ISIS Militants
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed
al-Hakim said Thursday that his country will only take back Iraqi ISIS fighters
and their families detained in Syria.
He said that the home countries of
other former ISIS members and their families should take the necessary
measures.
His remarks followed a meeting with
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Baghdad, and come amid worries
about the fate of thousands of ISIS members held by Kurdish fighters in Syria.
Kurdish-led forces in Syria are
warning that they might not be able to adequately guard some 10,000 ISIS
militants because of Turkey's ongoing military operation into northern Syria,
which began last week. That's raised fears of potential ISIS jailbreaks.
The issue was top of the agenda for
Le Drian in his talks with his Iraqi counterpart, President Barham Saleh and
Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.
Le Drian said he had discussed with
Iraqi leaders "the way to implement an appropriate judicial
mechanism" to try French and other fighters "in the best
conditions".
The aim is for foreign militants to
be tried in Iraqi courts while upholding certain principles of justice and
respect for human rights, a French diplomatic source said.
Western governments such as France
have been reluctant to take them back, for lack of a clear legal framework and
fear of a public backlash.
