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Guilty by association: Families of suspected Islamic State members pay a steep price

Aliya Mohammed begged her son not to get mixed up with Islamic State. Now she is paying the price for his decision to defy her. Today, months after the fighting ended, she is trapped in a camp for the displaced in the town of Hamam Alil — one of thousands of people, the majority of […]

Alexandra Zavis writes for LA Times:

Aliya Mohammed begged her son not to get mixed up with Islamic State. Now she is paying the price for his decision to defy her.

Today, months after the fighting ended, she is trapped in a camp for the displaced in the town of Hamam Alil — one of thousands of people, the majority of them women and children, who fled their homes during the war and now cannot return because relatives are said to have a connection to Islamic State.

Many are afraid to leave the camps. But even if they want to do so, they often find it impossible to get the necessary paperwork. The craving for revenge against Islamic State runs deep — as does the fear that the militants could make a comeback.