HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Among Kurds recruited by the Islamic State (IS), 85 percent have been educated at Islamic schools under the control of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in the Kurdistan Region, the ministry’s Official Spokesman, Mariwan Naqshbandi, said on Sunday (September 24).

“The number of Kurds who joined IS does not only include those who graduated from Islamic schools but also those who may have studied there for a short period of time,” Naqshbandi said, while speaking at the third day of the “Seclusion Platform” in Sulaimani.

Former students from the Kurdistan Region’s 23 Islamic schools joined IS after receiving an education from Islamic schools similar to those in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran and Egypt, Naqshbandi said.

The IS members identified as Kurds were between the ages of 13 and 25, he added.

“Those schools had been under the control of the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Endowment,” the ministry’s spokesman said. “While this does not mean we are responsible, I am saying this to acknowledge we are all accountable.”

There have been about 500 people identified as Kurds who have joined IS, of whom 300 were killed and 150 returned to the Kurdistan Region.

“About 150 of those who joined IS have returned to the Kurdistan Region, most of whom are under surveillance or under detention,” he said on June 15. “Some of those who returned have been freed and are living a normal life.”

Naqshbandi said it has been one year since a Kurd had joined IS from the Kurdistan Region.

Source: eKurd.com