Iraq begins trial proceedings for 900 jihadist suspects

Iraq has begun trial proceedings for nearly 900 Iraqi suspected members of the Islamic State group caught fleeing jihadist territory in neighbouring Syria, a judicial source told AFP on Sunday.

They were handed over to Iraqi authorities by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which ousted IS from swathes of eastern Syria including territory bordering Iraq.

"We received the interrogation files of nearly 900 Iraqi Daesh (IS) members coming from Syria," the court official said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

"The specialised terrorism court has begun setting dates for their trial in batches," the source added.

The nearly 900 suspected jihadists were transferred by the SDF to Iraqi custody in recent months as the remnants of IS' once sprawling self-declared "caliphate" collapsed in neighbouring Syria.

Additional Iraqi suspects are in SDF custody and awaiting transferral, a security source told AFP Sunday.

"They will be handed over in batches on