BRUSSELS: Ten Belgian children and six mothers have been recovered from a prison camp for captured jihadists in Syria and flown home to Belgium, the government said on Saturday. The adult mothers were taken into custody on their return to Belgium late on Friday, and child protection authorities will interview the minors and assign them to social services. Hundreds of volunteer fighters from Europe travelled to Syria and Iraq during the IS group’s campaign. Belgium, along with France, is among the European countries that saw the largest number of foreign fighters leave after the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011. Earlier this year, Belgian researchers estimated that about 40 Belgian minors were still in Syria.

Source: The Local July 18, 2021 02:15 UTC