Iraq says it will send Syrian regime soldiers back home

ANKARA

Iraq said Thursday that it will start repatriating Syrian army soldiers of the ousted Assad regime to Syria.

Interior Ministry spokesman Miqdad Miri said that the process of returning the Syrian soldiers to their country will start later in the day, state news agency INA reported.

“The process will be carried out after coordination with Syrian authorities,” he added.

According to media reports, over 3,000 Syrian army soldiers fled to Iraq following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime on Dec. 8.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after a 13-year civil war and decades years of his family rule.