The ‘Young Jihadists’ that No One Wants

Western media is bereft of news of returning Jihadist fighters and their families from previously held ISIL territories.  Much attention has been given to the fate of its male foreign fighters, in particular the security concerns regarding their return. Less attention has been given, however, to the children of these fighters—both those born in Iraq and Syria and those brought by their parents to the region.

In 2019, a group of 27 Russian children whose mothers are being held in Iraq for bearing links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been repatriated back to Russia. In Sweden too, according to terrorism researcher Magnus Ranstorp, the country has taken in 65 women who spent time in ISIS-held area, and bear one child or more. 27 of the Russian children were aged from four to 13 and hailed from 10 different regions in Russia. The French government wouldn’t confirm how many ­people may be repatriated, but French media reports, citing government sources, have placed the figure between 120 and 130 in coming months, although it has been confirmed that as many as 75 percent of those coming back would likely be younger than age 7.

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