Syrian Kurdish rebels hand over 17 Indonesians to Jakarta
dpa
CAIRO (dpa)– Syrian Kurdish rebels have handed over 17 Indonesians who had joined Islamic State in northern Syria to representatives of their government.
The 17 were in al-Raqqa city in good health and have asked to be sent back to Indonesia, the local Rojava News Network reported Thursday.
They were handed over on Tuesday, it said.
According to a UN estimate in March 2015, there were more than 25,000 foreign fighters in Islamic State and al-Qaeda from over 100 countries.
The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a military operation to retake al-Raqqa in November. The Syrian city is the de facto capital of Islamic State's self-styled caliphate.
The SDF reclaimed half of al-Raqqa from Islamic State in July.
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According to a UN estimate in March 2015, there were more than 25,000 foreign fighters in Islamic State and al-Qaeda from over 100 countries.
The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a military operation to retake al-Raqqa in November. The Syrian city is the de facto capital of Islamic State's self-styled caliphate.
The SDF reclaimed half of al-Raqqa from Islamic State in July.
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