US wants home countries to deal with Islamic State’s foreign fighters captured in Syria
The main US proxy force in Syria is holding hundreds of foreign militants, including two of the notorious British fighters known as ‘The Beatles’
The United States is urging allied nations to help deal with the growing number of foreign fighters that are being held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, saying the militants should be turned over to face justice in their home countries.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to raise the issue during a meeting in Rome this week with other members of the coalition that is fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The SDF is currently holding thousands of IS detainees, including hundreds of foreign fighters from a number of nations. The issue became more prominent in recent days, after the announcement that the SDF had captured two notorious British members of an Islamic State cell who were commonly dubbed The Beatles and were known for beheading hostages.
Success in the campaign means you get more people off the battlefield … These facilities are eventually going to be full
US officials have said putting the two in the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility is not an option. But British leaders have suggested they don’t want the two men returned to the UK.