Female Swedish Islamic State Members Arrested at Turkish Border

Female Swedish Islamic State members have been arrested on the Turkish border after escaping a prison camp for ISIS detainees in northern Syria.

Several Swedish Islamic State women, along with their children, have left for Turkey in recent weeks after managing to escape from prison camps in the northern part of Syria which is currently under Kurdish militia control.

According to a report from Swedish broadcaster SVT, at least two Swedish nationals are thought to be in Turkish custody after trying to cross the border with their children.

Swedish officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the broadcaster that they were aware that the women and their children were in Turkish jails but refused to go into detail.

“We know that there are reports that a few women and accompanying children are in the Syrian-Turkish border areas. We are monitoring this,” they said.

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“A number of people have returned to Sweden in recent years after being in Syria. Swedish authorities, including the police and social services, are well prepared to respond to these individuals upon their return,” the ministry added.

Sweden has investigated some returning Islamic State members for war crimes in recent months, opening ten investigations into ISIS members in January.

“I think I have indications of participation in the Islamic State and that means I have a reasonable reason to suspect a crime. It can possibly be anything from participation in combat to civil action, participation in the slave trade or similar situations that occurred there,” prosecutor Thomas Ahlstrand had said.

Around half of the Swedish Islamic state members at the al-Hol prison in northern Syria are said to come from Somali backgrounds. Earlier this year, Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed offered to allow the women and their children to go to Somalia if Sweden refused to take them back.

While Islamic State has largely been destroyed, Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said last month that the Syrian prison camps could become the base for a resurgence.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com