Iraq considers deporting 50,000 Turks, Russians, and Azerbaijanis linked to ISIS.
Iraq considers deporting 50,000 Turks, Russians, and Azerbaijanis linked to ISIS.
8-26-2025
Al-Maalomah/Translation..
An Agence France-Presse report revealed on Tuesday that Iraq is considering deporting hundreds of foreigners it has detained since the war on ISIS. Most of them appear to have been arrested on charges of belonging to ISIS or being family members of members of the organization.
The report, translated by Al-Maalomah, stated that “most of these people come from Turkey, Russia, and Azerbaijan. During the war on ISIS, an estimated 50,000 people from around the world flocked to Syria and Iraq to join the organization. ISIS captured Mosul in August 2014, eleven years ago.
” It added that “with the collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq in 2017 with the defeat of the organization in Mosul, the Iraqi government detained some foreigners. Over the next few years, more terrorists were arrested, although the number of detainees in Iraq is lower than in Syria, where tens of thousands of foreign ISIS family members remain in Al-Hawl and other camps.”
He explained that, “In fact, camps in Syria still house Iraqis who were members of ISIS, and Iraq has only slowly accepted their return. Several European countries have refused to allow their citizens to return after they joined ISIS, and it is unclear whether Turkey or Russia will allow Iraq to repatriate their citizens. Approximately 625 foreigners and 60 children are being held in Iraqi prisons.”
According to an Iraqi judicial source, “most of them are linked to ISIS. The Iraqi decision aims to repatriate those who were not sentenced to death, and the goal is to deport those convicted of less serious crimes. Those involved in ISIS crimes against humanity are likely to remain in Iraq.”
The report indicated that “Iraq faces a prisoner problem that dictates this decision. Iraqi prisons are overcrowded, and many of the foreigners appear to be women and children. Iraq also hopes that foreign governments will be flexible and repatriate their citizens. A European diplomat stated, “I’m not sure it can happen quickly.” This is an ironic response, given that European countries have refused to repatriate their citizens for eight years. Iraq did not ask for it to happen quickly; it waited a long time.
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