New York Times: Thanks to America's help, Kosovo returns jihadists' family from Syria

Kosovo's <x0horites said on Saturday, more than 100 of their citizens, mostly women and children close to jihadists have returned home from Syria in a major security operation organised with the assistance of the United States of America” ) That's how I start writing the most prestigious American NYT paper.

Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri was quoted there, who at a news conference in front of journalists, said the planned operation to return home our citizens from Syria ended successfully. Among the returnees in Kosovo are four suspected men who have joined the Islamic State War, 32 women and 74 children. Four suspected fighters have been arrested.

Nine of the children have lost their parents during fighting in Syria. Other details will not be disclosed once, authorities said, because of the sensitivity of the case, NYT writes, the Periscope broadcast.

Two buses packed with women and children stayed for hours at Kosovo Airport, before being transported under strict security measures to an area outside Kosovo's capital, Pristina. The group was sent to a centre in Vranidol, north of the city, before being sent home after 72 hours, authorities announce.

Minister Tahiri said the Task Force that co-ordinated this process was created in October, in close co-operation with the United States of America.

Our message is clear” he says. Kosovo's “government will continue to prevent and fight violent extremism and terrorism”.

The minister names women and children as innocent victims, while adding that authorities plan to rehabilitate and reintegration them into society.

According to Kosovo authorities, more than 400 Kosovars have joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq since 2012. Reuters reports that 70 of the men who fought alongside militant extremist groups have been killed.

Kosovo Police Director Rashit Qalaj has said 30 Kosovo citizens still actively support extremist groups in the region. Police said that about 150 women and children, including 60 children born in war zones, had been detained since the Islamic State group lost ground.

It is still unclear whether all Kosovars from Syria have managed to return Friday, NYT writes.

“We will not allow our citizens to turn into a threat to the Western world”, Tahiri said, adding that Kosovo will take all necessary measures “to ensure that the responsibilities face the law” and that “has no amnesty for any person, whether a woman or a man, who has committed an extremist act or terrorist “.

International and local security agencies have warned of the danger the countries may face from returning fighters. In 2015, Kosovo adopted a law condemning up to 15 years in prison, participating in foreign wars or conflicts.

Kosovo's population is 90 percent Muslim, but mainly secular. There have been no Islamic attacks on her land, according to Reuters, though more than 100 men have been imprisoned or charged with fighting charges in Syria and Iraq. Some of them were found guilty of planning attacks in Kosovo.

The government has announced that a form of radical Islam was imported to Kosovo by non-governmental organisations from the Middle East after its Serbian secession war in the late 1990s, concludes writing “New York Times”/ P ERISCOPIA