U.S.-backed SDF militia captures 400 Islamic State militants in Syria
FILE PHOTO: A soldier said to be from US.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces is seen firing a rifle from a rooftop towards IS targets in Baghouz, Syria, in this screen grab taken from video said to be shot March 4, 2019, and uploaded to social media website on March 5, 2019. Social Media Website/ via REUTERS
Damascus (IraqiNews.com) – The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias announced on Wednesday the capture of 400 Islamic State fighters while trying to escape the group’s last enclave in eastern Syria.
Reuters quoted a senior SDF source as saying that more hundreds of jihadists have surrendered to the U.S.-backed Syrian militias.
An Iraqi military expert said on Tuesday that Iraq would receive 250 detained Islamic State militants, mostly of Iraqi nationality, from the SDF militias soon.
Speaking to Almaalomah news website, Safaa al-A’sam said the new batch of detained Islamic State militants comes within the framework of a previous extradition deal between Iraq and the Syrian militias.
Al-A’sam pointed out that the last Islamic State enclave in the Syrian city of Baghuz includes hundreds of Iraqi militants, who fled their country into Syria following the crushing defeat of the terrorist group in Iraq in December 2017.
“As many as 150 Islamic State militants surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces within the past few hours,” he added.