A Russian foreign ministry plane has taken 32 children aged between one and three to Moscow from Iraq, where their mothers are in prison for alleged terrorism. Russian authorities said the 32 toddlers had been held in Iraqi jails where their mothers are either serving out sentences or awaiting trial for membership of the Islamic State group. The health ministry said the children, who arrived in Moscow late Monday, were taken straight to a hospital for medical tests. Countries such as Britain and France have withdrawn the citizenship of Islamist fighters, while the Russian authorities, notably Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, have encouraged their return. Foreign governments have been reluctant to repatriate ISIS suspects and their families, leaving authorities in Iraq and Syria to put them in camps or jails instead.

Source: Daily Mail November 18, 2019 23:26 UTC