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AL-BAGHOUZ, Syria — Among the thousands of people fleeing from the last Syrian ISIS holdout east of the Euphrates in al-Baghouz are the widows of ISIS fighters.
Those fleeing are taken by Syrian Democratic Forces to camps elsewhere in the country. They say the widows who remain are considered to be ISIS members.
"They fight for God. Each one of them dedicates his life to God. Those who are weak and can’t fight have to leave the town. We can’t fight. When my husband died, I was considered to be an ISIS member," said Ja Hassan, an ISIS widow who was among those leaving al-Baghouz.
It is estimated that some 30,000 people have fled al-Baghouz. Every day new mass graves are found, some could contain kidnapped Yezidis or others the extremists used to try to establish their "caliphate."
Suspected ISIS members are checked by the SDF before being transported.
"We register their names including how many children they have and where they come from. Later, we take them to the security forces. They scan their fingerprints and eyes. There are ISIS foreigners. We speak with their countries. We have ISIS members form Iraq, Turkey and Syria," said Abdulkarim Sifuk, who works with the displaced people in Deir ez-Zor.
Many of the relatives of slain ISIS fighters say they are saddened by the defeat of ISIS.
Those fleeing are taken by Syrian Democratic Forces to camps elsewhere in the country. They say the widows who remain are considered to be ISIS members.
"They fight for God. Each one of them dedicates his life to God. Those who are weak and can’t fight have to leave the town. We can’t fight. When my husband died, I was considered to be an ISIS member," said Ja Hassan, an ISIS widow who was among those leaving al-Baghouz.
It is estimated that some 30,000 people have fled al-Baghouz. Every day new mass graves are found, some could contain kidnapped Yezidis or others the extremists used to try to establish their "caliphate."
Suspected ISIS members are checked by the SDF before being transported.
"We register their names including how many children they have and where they come from. Later, we take them to the security forces. They scan their fingerprints and eyes. There are ISIS foreigners. We speak with their countries. We have ISIS members form Iraq, Turkey and Syria," said Abdulkarim Sifuk, who works with the displaced people in Deir ez-Zor.
Many of the relatives of slain ISIS fighters say they are saddened by the defeat of ISIS.
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