Turkey to assist children of ISIL militants in Iraq

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

Turkey is willing to bring its citizens, especially children born to ISIL militants, in Iraq back to Turkey before Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Ankara's ambassador to Iraq said.

“We aim to bring a significant number of children, even if not all of them, before the Ramadan feast. We are working on that,” Fatih Yıldız told Anadolu Agency.

He was accompanying Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to Ankara.

“We have agreed with the Iraqi side to alleviate the unjust suffering of the children," the envoy added.

Underlining that these children had family and kinship relations in Turkey, Yıldız said: “Our goal is to bring children and families together with the contribution of the Turkish Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry.”

He added that Turkish women languishing in Iraqi jails after receiving prison sentences should be extradited to Turkey.

Extradition of criminals between Turkey and Iraq is possible in certain circumstances.

"So, we need to work out something [to bring home Turkish citizens],” Yıldız said.