Mother of US journalist murdered in Syria concerned ISIS will reemerge amid US withdrawal
The mother of American journalist James Foley shares her concern over the fate of ISIS prisoners as the U.S. pulls back its presence in Northern Syria.
The mother of an American journalist who was murdered in Syria voiced concerns on Friday over President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeast Syria.
“I’m very concerned about ISIS regrouping and re-emerging, as well as the humanitarian crisis,” Diane Foley told “America’s Newsroom.”
Her son, James Foley, disappeared in 2012 while covering the Syrian civil war. He was beheaded by ISIS terrorists in August of 2014, the first American citizen to be killed by the Islamic State.
A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News on Wednesday that two British militants believed to be part of an Islamic State group that beheaded hostages have been moved out of a detention center in Syria and taken into American custody.
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“I think it’s important to remember that they [British Jihadist] are a small portion of the 10,000 ISIS fighters that have been captured and held along that border,” Foley said.
ISIS fighters and other terrorists comprising more than 10,000 Islamic militants jailed in northeast Syria could launch a mass prison break, Syrian Kurdish fighters warned Monday.
“So for them [captured ISIS militants] to go unguarded and be able to escape into our Western world creates a serious international security risk," she said.
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President Trump said earlier Wednesday that the U.S. had moved some of the "most dangerous" Islamic State prisoners from Syria amid fears that they may escape as Turkey invades Syria’s northeast region.
So far these are the only two ISIS-connected individuals removed from Syria by the U.S. in case security breaks down as a result of the Turkish action, but officials said a number of others could be moved if needed. Thousands of other Islamic State group detainees remain in custody under control of the Kurds.
Foley said she "hates to see us abdicating our role as an international leader against the human right atrocities" in Syria, amid reports of Turkish forces attacking civilian areas.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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