About 3,000 Islamic State detainees have so far been transferred from Syrian prisons to Iraq and the process is continuing, Iraq's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that Baghdad was in discussions with some countries to repatriate them soon.
U.S. military vehicles move ahead of buses transporting Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Qamishli, Syria. Reuters/Orhan Qereman
About 3,000 Islamic State detainees have so far been transferred from Syrian prisons to Iraq and the process is continuing, Iraq's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that Baghdad was in discussions with some countries to repatriate them soon.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Fuad Hussein said Baghdad would need more financial assistance to deal with the influx, and warned that there had been a recent uptick in Islamic State activity in Syria.
He said that, while Baghdad took the United States' signals seriously, the nomination of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to take up the role again was an internal issue.
Reporting by John Irish
Female Kurdish fighters who became global symbols of the fight against Islamic State are negotiating with Syria's new authorities to retain a combat role after a government overhaul left their future uncertain.
NATO member Turkey would consider taking its relations with the China and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to a higher level, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.
The U.S. and Iran found themselves back in a war footing on Wednesday after the most significant exchange in weeks, with Washington threatening even more devastating strikes while Iran protested an attack that it said killed five and wounded dozens of civilians at a wedding.
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