The ministry was aware of such an information following a story that was reported by AFP. The matter had been immediately verified after communication with Indonesian embassies in Baghdad and Ankara.
"We have been comparing the names mentioned in the news page with our database to identify the 16 people referred in the news," Foreign Ministrys director for the protection of Indonesian nationals and entities abroad, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, said during a press briefing here on Tuesday.
Internal coordination between government agencies in Indonesia, as well as security authorities in Iraq and Syria, has been carried out to move the Indonesians from refugees camp of Ain Issa, about 50 kilometers from northern Raqqa, to the embassy, before returning them to the country.
After arriving in Indonesia, these people will undergo "further screening" by the police to determine the need for advanced handling.
According to Iqbal, the Foreign Ministry has an SOP to hand over to Indonesians who are sent back from Iraq and Syria, indicating whether they had joined the radical movement, to the National Police counter-terrorism squad Densus 88.
AFP reported that Nur (19) and other 15 Indonesians decided to leave Raqqa after regretting their decision to join ISIS.
They were seduced by the promises of a beautiful life under the rule of Islamic State, initiated by ISIS. But they were disappointed after experiencing atrocities and abominations that were very different from the "beautiful pictures" they found in the ISIS propaganda videos on the internet.
Nur fled from Raqqa after being chased by an ISIS militia who wanted to make her his wife.
As for another Indonesian woman, Leefa (38), quitting Raqqa was the best decision after she found out that ISIS promise to provide free surgery for her health problem was completely a lie.
According to Indonesian government, about 500-600 Indonesians are currently in Syria. Another 500 people tried to enter Syria, but were deported before arriving in the ISIS-controlled area.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
