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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Danya Bazaraa

ISIS fighter's 7 orphaned children rescued from Syria and reunited with granddad

Seven orphaned children of notorious ISIS fighter Michael Skramo have been rescued from Syria and reunited with their granddad.

The kids, aged between one and eight, had already lost their mum in January before their dad was killed in the final ISIS battles.

ITV News tracked down the children in a Kurdish camp in April and have witnessed part of the journey as they were removed from Syria and taken to their grandparent waiting for them in Iraq.

Diplomatic officials from Sweden met with Kurdish counterparts to make it happen after weeks of negotiation, reports said.

A moving photo shows the orphans holding hands as they prepared to cross the Euphrates river after weeks trapped in a camp.

The children were finally rescued from their ordeal (ITV)

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The next step is to eventually take the children back to Sweden where some of them were born, reports said.

Their granddad Patricio Galvez told ITV the children were "very good" and said "I'd dreamed for this moment".

Family friend Gorki Glaser-Muller told how he started to cry when he saw the children and felt like his heart had broken then pieced back together again.

In an emotional interview he said "they are very small because they have not grown, they are malnourished.

"Their gaze is like big children, but their bodies are like small children."

The youngsters have learned to care for each other but some of them need emotional support.

The seven children have been reunited with their granddad (ITV)

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Michael Skramo was a Swedish man who converted to Islam before becoming a recruiter for the ISIS caliphate and taking his wife and kids to Syria.

His sister had pleaded with him to free the children just days before his death - but the dad had ignored her pleas.

After his death, it was feared the children were all alone and in danger until they were finally found.

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