Take back and prosecute your jailed Daesh militants, Iraq tells Europe

An Iraqi security official said the 150 so far transferred to Iraq were “all leaders of the Daesh group, and some of the most notorious criminals.” (Reuters)
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Updated 24 January 2026
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Take back and prosecute your jailed Daesh militants, Iraq tells Europe

RAQQA: Baghdad on Friday urged European states to repatriate and prosecute their citizens who fought for Daesh, and who are now being moved to Iraq from detention camps in Syria.

Europeans were among 150 Daesh prisoners transferred so far by the US military from Kurdish custody in Syria. They were among an estimated 7,000 militants due to be moved across the border to Iraq as the Kurdish-led force that has held them for years relinquishes swaths of territory to the advancing Syrian army.
In a telephone call on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said European countries should take back and prosecute their nationals.
An Iraqi security official said the 150 so far transferred to Iraq were “all leaders of the Daesh group, and some of the most notorious criminals.” They included “Europeans, Asians, Arabs and Iraqis,” he said.
Another Iraqi security source said the group comprised “85 Iraqis and 65 others of various nationalities, including Europeans, Sudanese, Somalis, and people from the Caucasus region.”
They all took part in Daesh operations in Iraq, he said, and were now being held at a prison in Baghdad.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that “non-Iraqi terrorists will be in Iraq temporarily.”
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces jailed thousands of militant fighters and detained tens of thousands of their relatives in camps as it pushed out Daesh in 2019 after five years of fighting.


French FM: Lebanese army must be given ‘means’ to disarm Hezbollah

Updated 59 min 3 sec ago
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French FM: Lebanese army must be given ‘means’ to disarm Hezbollah

  • ‘France’s vision for Lebanon is that of a strong, sovereign state holding a monopoly on arms’
  • France will host a conference in support of the Lebanese army on March 5

IRBIL, Iraq: Lebanon’s army must be given the means to disarm militant group Hezbollah, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said ahead of his expected arrival in Beirut on Friday.
“France’s vision for Lebanon is that of a strong, sovereign state holding a monopoly on arms,” he said.
“The first step to fulfil this mission is to give the Lebanese Armed Forces the means to continue the work of disarming Hezbollah,” added the minister, whose country will host a conference in support of the Lebanese army on March 5.