Dutch pick up 5 mothers, 11 kids in Syria; Women to be prosecuted for ISIS ties

The Netherlands collected five Dutch women and their 11 children from a Kurdish refugee camp in northern Syria. They'll be brought to the Netherlands so that the women can be prosecuted for participation in terrorist organization ISIS, insiders told NOS.

The women and children were picked up from camp Al Roj on Thursday morning. The women are in custody and will likely be taken to the penitentiary in Zwolle - the only terrorist unit for women in the Netherlands, the broadcaster said. 

The Netherlands decided to bring these women back now to be prosecuted. According to NOS, a recent court ruling said that if they're not back in the Netherlands before April, the case against them would be dropped.

The children will be taken in by family. Child Protection screened the women's families to make sure they're able to take in the children, who will be guided and monitored by social workers and psychologists. 

NOS spoke to Bert Klijn, whose daughter Amber is one of the women on her way back with her two children, aged 4 and 5. He is delighted. "The government only does this after impunity threatened. It did require a court decision. But that doesn't matter now, we are very happy and will welcome our grandchildren with open arms," he said.