France hunts, kills citizens fighting with IS in Iraq

French forces have enlisted Iraqi counter terrorism combatants to secretly hunt and kill French nationals who have joined senior ranks of Islamic State, The Wall Street Journal reports.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

30 May, 2017

France enlisted Iraqi soldiers to secretly hunt and kill French nationals who joined IS [AFP]

France enlisted Iraqi soldiers to secretly hunt and kill French nationals who have joined senior ranks of Islamic State [IS] militant group, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing Iraqi officers and former French officials.

French forces have provided Iraqi counterterrorism combatants with the names and photographs of around 30 men, the WSJ report said.

Authorities in France are trying to prevent those nationals from returning and carrying out a terrorist attack, after the country fell target to several deadly incidents in the past two years.

"They are dealing with them here, because they don't want to deal with them at home," a senior Iraqi counterterrorism officer directly involved in coordinating with the French special forces told the WSJ.

"It's their duty. It's common sense. The most lethal attacks overseas were in France."

Several French national IS militants have been killed using intelligence supplied by the French, while dozens of others are being hunted.

"French forces work in close cooperation with their Iraqi and international partners... regardless of national origin," said a French Ministry of Defense spokeswoman who declined to comment more specifically on the operation.

It is estimated that about 1,700 French nationals joined the militant group in Iraq and Syria, according to the report.

Hundreds have died in fighting while many others are believed to have returned back home.