February 17, 2018

Western Countries’ Dilemma: What to Do With Captured IS Foreign Fighters?

Source: Voice of America

Journalists: Nisan Ahmado, Rikar Hussein

The United States and its European allies are divided over the question of what to do with hundreds of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters who were captured on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

While an agreement on how to handle the issue has yet to be made, experts warn of unprecedented challenges as some countries refuse to accept these fighters back into their home countries or are unprepared to deal with them in their criminal justice systems.

The U.S position is that jihadists ought to be tried in their home countries. But the United Kingdom and France have been reluctant to agree to such an arrangement.

Read the full article in Voice of America here.

Author

  • Nicholas Heras

    Former Fellow, Middle East Security Program

    Nicholas A. Heras is a former Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), working in the Middle East Security Program. His work focused on the analysis of complex...