The human time bomb Foreign jihadists must be thrown out, say fighters

ISIL’S foreign fighters and their children must be thrown out of Syria, the fighters who wiped out the caliphate said yesterday.

The Kurdishled Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) called the foreigners a time bomb which the international community must defuse.

“There are thousands of fighters, children and women from 54 countries … who are a serious burden and danger for us and for the international community,” said Abdel Karim Omar, the SDF’S top foreign relations official.

He warned that the SDF might be unable to continue to detain the jihadists and their families because of the sheer weight of numbers.

“There has to be co-ordination between us and the international community to address this danger,” he said.

“There are thousands of children who have been raised according to IS ideology.

“If these children are not re-educated and reintegrated in their societies of origin, they are potential future terrorists.”

In February, Donald Trump called on Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back their citizens, but neither they nor the US have made any significant moves towards repatriation.

Magnus Ranstorp, a Swedish terror expert, said the children had been radicalised.

“From eight or nine, they have been sent to indoctrination camps. Some of them have learnt how to kill,” he said.

Sara Elizabeth Williams