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Russian Emergencies Ministry evacuates over 30 children from Iraq

Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova said that all identified children of Russian citizens jailed in Iraq for terrorist activity will be returned to Russia by August

© Maxim Grigoryev/TASS

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Over 2,000 children from other states currently stay in Iraq, Syria

MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. A Russian Emergencies Ministry aircraft has evacuated over 30 children of Russian citizens held in a prison in Iraq's Baghdad, the ministry’s press service told TASS on Wednesday.

"A special Il-76 flight belonging to the Russian Emergencies Ministry has arrived from Baghdad to Ramenskoye Airport in the Moscow Region with 33 children of Russian citizens that found themselves in the armed conflict zone," the ministry stated.

Earlier, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova said that all identified children of Russian citizens jailed in Iraq for terrorist activity will be returned to Russia by August.

In 2017, an inter-ministerial commission dealing with the return of children from combat zones was established. In December 2018 and February 2019, 57 children were returned to Russia from Iraq due to the efforts of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Health Ministry and other agencies.

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