Iraqi authorities deport IS fighters families from Shirqat
Representational photo.
“The local council of Shirqat has issued a decision to deport the families of the IS fighters from the town and called for an immediate implementation of the decision,” Army Major Yasser al-Tamimi told Anadolu Agency.
Al-Tamimi noted that there is great dissatisfaction inside the council of Shirqat with the presence of the families of Islamic State (IS) fighters inside the town. The deportation decision aims at maintaining the security.
Earlier in June, Mosul city council decided to deport the families of IS fighters and to relocate them to special camps in order to rehabilitate them mentally. It added that it would no longer allow receiving migrant IS fighters families arriving from other provinces and the existing families are to be deported and sheltered in camps where they will be psychologically and ideologically rehabilitated and integrated with society once they prove responsive to that process.
The IS terror group has a grip on key areas that link Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk governorates.
The eastern coast of Shirqat, which lies on the west bank of the Tigris river in Salahuddin province, is still under the IS control, after liberating the western coast few months ago.
In September, Iraqi army said its forces recaptured the town, located south of Mosul, after being surrounded for months by Iraqi troops and the pro-government Shi’ite militias.