A top Iraqi government official has asked Australia to repatriate Australian citizens who are suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) and are currently being held in Iraq. This was requested by Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji in a meeting with Australian Ambassador Glenn Miles in Baghdad. Al-Araji made the appeal because more than 5,700 suspected members of Islamic State, who were being held in Syria, were transferred to Iraq in a military operation supported by the United States. Among these suspected members are 13 Australian men, including one who was taken into Islamic State territory as a child. Iraq has made several appeals to foreign countries whose citizens are being held in Iraq to take up the task of dealing with these foreign fighters. This is because dealing with thousands of foreign fighters is an overwhelming burden on Iraq. So far, Australia has refused to repatriate suspected members of ISIS who are currently in Iraq and Syria. In some cases, Australia has accepted some suspected members and charged them in Australian courts. Iraq has threatened to prosecute foreign detainees in Iraq if they have committed any crimes against Iraqis. This is because Iraq sentences terrorism convicts to death.
The issue points to one of the biggest unresolved consequences of the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Thousands of foreign fighters are currently in jail in Iraq and Syria. Western governments, including Australia, the UK, and the US, have shown reluctance in repatriating these foreign fighters. The consequences of keeping foreign fighters in Iraq are a problem because of the legal, financial, and security implications. Iraq says that the governments of the foreign fighters should be responsible for prosecuting them rather than leaving Iraq to handle the problem alone. The consequences of keeping foreign fighters in Iraq also point to the instability in the Middle East, especially with regard to the tensions arising from the conflict with Iran. There have been concerns about the consequences of the instability in Iraq and Syria because of the unresolved legal consequences of the war with ISIS.