A senior Iraqi government official has implored Australia to repatriate a group of suspected Islamic State fighters, raising the issue with Canberra’s top diplomat in Baghdad just weeks after the detainees were flown out of Syria.
In a post on This despite the fact that this task is made more difficult due to the growing instability in the region, caused by the war in Iran.
The comments are the latest in a series of efforts to force countries to repatriate their citizens, after more than 5,700 suspected IS members were recently transferred from Syria to Iraq in a US-backed military mission. Among them are about 13 Australian men, including one who was just a child when he was trafficked to IS territory.
The Australian government has recently resisted such calls, although some suspected fighters who traveled to Syria have previously been returned.
Al-Araji, a former interior minister, posted a photo with Miles last Wednesday, shortly after the two met, and said they talked about the group of suspected IS fighters.
“We affirm… the importance of intensifying international efforts to stop the war and prevent its further expansion, in a way that safeguards the security of the people of the region and prevents them from further suffering,” he said in the post.
“We also explained that the Iraqi government continues its coordination and diplomatic engagements with friendly and brotherly countries to reduce tensions and move towards a reduction in tensions through constructive dialogue and rebuilding trust, in a way that contributes to ending the conflict.
“In addition, we renew Iraq’s call to the international community to receive its nationals among the detainees who were recently transferred from Syria to Iraqi prisons.”
Miles did not mention the meeting on his X account, where he posts frequently.
It is understood that the meeting was a regular appointment and its main purpose was to discuss the conflict in Iran and the wider turmoil in the Middle East.
But a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told the Guardian that “Australia is not repatriating or assisting people linked to ISIS in Iraq and Syria.”
Over the past decade, a number of men accused of fighting in Syria have been returned to Australia individually and subsequently jailed.
Thousands of suspected fighters in Iraq
Last month, Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation confirmed it had detained 5,704 suspected ex-combatants from 61 countries, including citizens of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The country’s government has made clear that it wants foreign citizens returned to their home countries as soon as possible, but that it will prosecute anyone alleged to have committed crimes against Iraqis.
“We are in contact with their countries to repatriate them based on their nationalities once investigations are completed, as long as they are not among those who fought against Iraq, killed Iraqis or participated in terrorist activities inside Iraq,” Justice Minister Khalid Shwani told media outlet Asharq Al-Awsat last month.
It was unclear whether the Australians transferred from Syria could face charges in Iraq.
At least one Australian has previously been sentenced to death in Iraq after a court found him guilty of being a member of the Islamic State.
Iraq has systematically executed by hanging people convicted of terrorist crimes. It was the fourth country with the highest number of executioners in the world in 2024, with 63 documented executions, most for terrorism crimes.
The men could also face terrorism offenses or foreign incursion into Australia, a prospect that could make them reluctant to return.
The group includes the husbands and fathers of the group of 34 Australian women and children who remain stranded in Syria.
Guardian Australia attempted to contact the families and lawyers of several of the men residing in Australia.
A lawyer representing several of the prisoners told Guardian Australia last month that neither he nor his clients’ families had heard from the Australian or Iraqi governments since their transfer from Syria.
It came after the federal government took a hardline approach to women and children trapped in al-Roj camp in Syria, who have been trying to return to Australia, including through a failed attempt to leave last month.
