MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Passports of Azerbaijani and Russian nationals were captured on the video published by the Iraqi military on Twitter. Neither the authenticity of the documents nor their belonging to particular people have been verified to date.
The operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh terrorists began on October 17, 2016. Iraqi troops have managed to advance in the eastern part of the city, but the western part — on the right bank of the Tigris River — remains under control of the militants.
The Russian authorities and security services have repeatedly voiced concerns over the threat that the militants fighting abroad on the side of Daesh and other terrorist organizations in the Middle East may return to their countries of origin. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Russia would better fight Islamists of the former USSR origin in Syria, than wait for their return.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, over 3,200 Russians have arrived in Syria and Iraq to fight on the terrorists’ side over the past years.
