Germany brings back female IS supporters, their kids from Syria

Germany has flown back several women suspected of having joined the Islamic State terrorist militia and their children from a prison camp in Syria, reported dpa.

During the "extremely difficult operation," 27 German children and 10 women were repatriated from the Roj camp in north-eastern Syria on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Thursday.

"The 27 children are victims of Islamic State, and they have the right to a better future away from its deadly ideology, and to live in safety, as we wish for our own children," the minister said.

"The mothers have to take responsibility for their actions. Some of them were immediately taken into custody upon arrival in Germany," Baerbock added.

A spokesperson for the federal police in Frankfurt confirmed to dpa that 27 children and 10 mothers with German citizenship from a camp in north-eastern Syria had arrived there on a government flight late on Wednesday evening.

Arrest warrants had been issued against several of the women, aged between 23 and 36, on suspicion of committing terrorism-related offences. According to the spokesperson, they were arrested.

German newspaper Bild reported earlier that the women had joined Islamic State and the federal prosecutor general had obtained arrest warrants for four of them, while the others were being investigated.

According to the report, some of the women had already fled the Islamic State-controlled areas in 2017 and surrendered to the Kurds, while others had stayed until the militia's military defeat in the spring of 2019.

Germany has repatriated German Islamic State supporters and their children from Syria several times in recent years.

"With today's action, the majority of German children whose mothers are willing to return to Germany are safe," Baerbock said. "There are now only a few special cases for which we are continuing to work on individual solutions."

Among others, Baerbock thanked "the Kurdish autonomous administration in north-eastern Syria and our American partners, who have once again provided us with logistical support." North-eastern Syria is under Kurdish administration.