16 June 2018•Update: 17 June 2018
By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON
European Daesh terror group members have been released by the SDF under secret prisoner swap deals, raising fears the terrorists could reenter the battlefield and even return to Europe, according to a British daily Friday.
The U.S. has supported a number of terrorist groups under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces, also known as the SDF, which includes the PYD/YPG that is considered by Ankara as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, nationals from France and Germany are among the militants released so far. However, there are three British Daesh members still held by the SDF who could be released in future deals, it said.
The SDF has struck three agreements with Daesh, which saw the exchange of Daesh members and their families with that of SDF members.
The first of these agreements was made in February this year and involved the release of an estimated 200 people, majority of whom were from Chechnya but also included nationals from Europe and other countries in the Middle East.
Upon release, the militants returned to the territory under the control of Daesh and it is unclear whether they aim to stay in Syria or return to Europe.
SDF militants were also released by Daesh in exchange for their members.
The SDF argues they do not have the capacity to hold and detain Daesh terror group members. Furthermore, SDF allies in the west have refused to accept responsibility for these secrete prisoner swaps.
European countries who have citizens fighting for Daesh have refused to take the returning militants back and argue that they should be tried and imprisoned in Syria where they fought.
Daesh lost a majority of its territory it once controlled in Syria due to western-backed offensives by the SDF. They now hold a few towns and villages in the desert of eastern Syria near the Syrian-Iraqi border.
