French female ISIS fighter to be extradited following conviction in Iraq

Melina Bougedir will serve a 7-month sentence in Iraq before being extradited to France for another trial there.

By SHOSHANA KRANISH
Updated: FEBRUARY 20, 2018 07:23
Melina Bougedir, a French woman who joined ISIS, at her trial in Baghdad (photo credit: STRINGER / AFP)
Melina Bougedir, a French woman who joined ISIS, at her trial in Baghdad
(photo credit: STRINGER / AFP)
Melina Bougedir, the first female French ISIS fighter to be captured by Iraqi forces, will be extradited to France following her sentencing in Baghdad, Le Monde reported.
Bougedir was sentenced on Monday to 7 months in prison for illegally entering Iraq. She left France in 2015 with her husband and their three children to join the Islamic State. While in Iraq, she gave birth to the couple's fourth child. She and her children were captured by Iraqi forces in July 2017; her husband, Maximilien, who was reportedly a chef, died in combat. 
She will remain in Iraqi custody until her papers have been sorted, at which point she will be sent back to France and tried for criminal conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization.
Three of Bougedir's children have been repatriated to France. The fourth, who is under 2 months old, will remain with her.
At her hearing, she told the judge that ISIS had confiscated her French passport, which she had used to enter Syria. She reportedly had stayed in Syria for 4 days before journeying on to Mosul, where she remained until her capture.
According to French intelligence, as of November 2017, some 700 French nationals are fighting with the Islamic State, of which aroud 300 are women. Nearly 2,000 French citizens have gone to Iraq and Syria to join the group.