Islamic State militants holding 3500 Iraqis in Syria prisons: mayor
Counter-Terrorism forces discover another ISIS prison east of Mosul.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants are holding 3500 Iraqis in prisons they are still running inside Syria, a local Iraqi official was quoted saying on Friday.
Ahmed al-Mahallawi, mayor of al-Qaem, a former Islamic State bastion in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, near the Syrian border, told Iraqi AlMaalomah news website that 3500 people from the town are still held by the extremist group.
Mahallawi said Iraqi security had approached the Syrian side to inquire about the whereabouts of 3500 Iraqis held in IS prisons who had been captured by the group during its reign over various areas of Anbar.
He said the list of missing prisoners is officially adopted by the Iraqi authorities, adding that those authorities started contacting their Syrian counterparts after the discovery of the body of an Iraqi army member at a grave in the Syrian border city of Boukamal.
Iraq declared victory over IS and regaining control over the borders with Syria in late 2017. The group had been notorious for torturing and executing civilians at areas under its control in Iraq and Syria.