Dutch jihadist women ask to be arrested: report

At least six Dutch women who went to join Islamic State in Syria and Iraq asked the Dutch courts to have them arrested. They are currently in Kurdish camps with 11 Dutch children, and hope to be able to return to the Netherlands in this way, AD reports.

According to the newspaper, one of the women's lawyer submitted her request to be arrested to the Public Prosecutor in the Netherlands, who asked the Kurdish authorities to detain the women. After the women are arrested, they can be taken to the Dutch embassy. From there their return to the Netherlands can be arranged, so that they can be tried.

Lawyer Andre Seebregts called the women's request "unusual". They are trying to protect their children, he said to the newspaper. "They say: if necessary, arrest us, try us. As long as the children are away from here."

Last week two other Dutch jihadists returned to the Netherlands. They were flown from Turkey to Schiphol under heavy security, and were arrested upon their arrival at the Amsterdam airport.