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| Two Britons freed in Iraq after arrest on way home from fighting Isis | Two Britons freed in Iraq after arrest on way home from fighting Isis |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two Britons and an Irishman have been freed from jail in a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq after being detained on their way home from fighting against Islamic State, the Foreign Office has confirmed. | Two Britons and an Irishman have been freed from jail in a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq after being detained on their way home from fighting against Islamic State, the Foreign Office has confirmed. |
| They are understood to have been with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a force reported to have between 25,000 and 50,000 fighters trying to quell Isis in northern Syria. | They are understood to have been with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a force reported to have between 25,000 and 50,000 fighters trying to quell Isis in northern Syria. |
| Jac Holmes, Joe Akerman and Joshua Molloy, the latter both former soldiers, were held for more than a week in a prison in Irbil after crossing the border from Syria. | |
| They had spent months fighting against Isis. | They had spent months fighting against Isis. |
| Shortly after his release, Holmes, an IT worker, told the BBC: “It feels good to finally be out, hopefully no more trouble and we’ll be on the way home soon.” | |
| Holmes’s mother is reported to have met Kurdish officials on Friday to help secure his release. She told the BBC it had been an anxious time and wrote that she was “prepared to chain myself to the railings” if she was unable to help free him. | |
| Holmes had no military experience when he first entered Syria in January 2015. He previously said his interest in the country spiked in 2011 and his attention gradually shifted to the struggle of the Kurds against Isis. | |
| On Sunday, he posted on Facebook: “Got out of jail peeps, thanks for the support.” Akerman also posted a message on Facebook which simply read: “Free.” | |
| The three men are understood to have been freed on Sunday night, and Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, Charlie Flanagan, was the first to break the news to the Molloy family. | |
| Declan Molloy, Joshua’s father, said emotions in the family were running wild. “We are all delighted here. We are jumping with joy to know that he is out,” he said. | Declan Molloy, Joshua’s father, said emotions in the family were running wild. “We are all delighted here. We are jumping with joy to know that he is out,” he said. |
| “You know that Christmas morning feeling, it’s a bit like that, when you find your most sought-after present under the tree, the dream present. That’s how we feel.” | “You know that Christmas morning feeling, it’s a bit like that, when you find your most sought-after present under the tree, the dream present. That’s how we feel.” |
| A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed the release of the two Britons. “We are helping two British men make arrangements to leave Kurdistan after they were released from custody,” she said. | A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed the release of the two Britons. “We are helping two British men make arrangements to leave Kurdistan after they were released from custody,” she said. |
| British officials have consistently warned against travelling to conflict zones and that anyone fighting abroad is at risk of breaching UK terrorism laws. |