Around 450 French nationals linked to the ISIS are being held by Kurds or detained in refugee camps in northeastern Syria, the French foreign minister said Tuesday.
"In the northeastern zone of Syria, we think that there are between 400 and 450 French people, some in camps, others held as prisoners, including children," Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament's foreign affairs committee.
He said only the children could be repatriated if they were orphans or if their mothers gave permission.
France has long insisted that its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial locally, refusing to repatriate them despite the risk they could receive death sentences.
"Our position is still the same and we will not shift: fighters must be judged where they have committed crimes," Le Drain said.
A Baghdad court sentenced two more Frenchmen to death Tuesday for joining the ISIS jihadist group, raising the number of French ISIS members on death row in Iraq to six.
Since March Paris has repatriated just five orphans and a three-year-old girl whose mother was sentenced to life in prison in Iraq.
Le Drian said that more than 100 French fighters were still present in Idlib, the last jihadist stronghold in Syria's northwest which is being relentlessly bombed by President Bashar al-Assad's troops.
He said the area was a "real time bomb" with about "30,000" rebel and jihadist fighters holed up there and evoked the threat of an influx of refugees from this region to Europe.
Government Makes ISI Mark Mandatory For Stainless Steel, Aluminium Utensils Stop Interference In Judiciary By Agencies Like ISI: Pakistan Court To PM's Office Searches Carried Out In Premises In Gujarat, Maharashtra In Pakistan Spying Case Under-Fire Trainee IAS Officer Accuses Pune Collector Of Harassment Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Recalled To Academy, Training Put On Hold What Trump Rally Shooter Did On Last Day Of His Life "Bathroom Slippers": Internet Reacts To Kuwait Store's Rs 1 Lakh "Sandals" Finish Migrant Workers' Ration Card Verification In 1 Month: Court To States IMF Raises India's GDP Growth Forecast To 7% For 2024-25 Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.