France repatriates small children from camps in Syria

PARIS – France says it has brought back several small children held in camps in Syria, as governments debate what do with the Islamic State group’s foreign fighters and their families.

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the French children were brought back Friday from camps in northeastern Syria. The children are all 5 or younger, and some are orphans.

The statement said the Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces made the handover possible, without elaborating. The SDF is working to defeat IS in its last bastion in Syria.

The ministry said the children will get medical and psychological treatment, and stressed that French adults who fought with IS should be prosecuted in the country where they committed crimes.

French jihadis made up the largest contingent of European recruits to IS.