BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi stated June 25 that his government is considering taking over the prosecution of Islamic State (IS) members currently detained in Syria, even if they did not fight in battles on Iraqi soil. This comes weeks after the trials of the IS members handed over to Iraq by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Kurdish-Syrian SDF handed over the first group of IS members — including dozens of Europeans — to Iraq in February. Iraq’s judiciary sentenced five French nationals to death in late May, as the Iraqi government negotiated with the UN to claim custody of foreign IS fighters detained in Syria, including members who did not conduct terrorist attacks on Iraqi soil. The government, however, did not state why it joined the negotiations.
