US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday (February 13th) that doing nothing with foreign fighters captured in Syria "was not an option", AFP reported.
The remarks came after a meeting in Rome of the international coalition battling the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS).
During the fierce offensive to oust ISIS from al-Raqa, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured "hundreds" of foreign fighters, Mattis said.
The US does not want the prisoners to remain in Syria, where it fears the power vacuum could allow the fighters to escape and once again take up arms. It says foreign fighters should be dealt with in their country of origin.
"The bottom line is, we do not want (these fighters) to go back on the streets of Ankara, (...) Tunis, Paris or Brussels, (…)," Mattis said, following the meeting with 13 of his international counterparts.
"It is an international problem, it needs to be addressed by all engaged."
But several countries do not want the fighters to return home.
