ukraine is calling for an investigation into a missile strike, which killed dozens of russian held his prisoners of war. families of the dead rallied and protest. many victims of veterans of the siege. all mario pulled russia denies, carrying out the attack diligently, w dot next dw documentary looks at efforts to track down former fighters of the so called islamic state for me and told me orlando, thanks for watching a uses a thought they were great. you knew

this is irish camp in northeastern syria since the fall of the so called islamic state, arab and kurdish forces have in turned over 800 women here captured former i. s, members. among them are $200.00 french citizens and their children. they live at precarious conditions, waiting to be sentenced and possibly return to france. we were able to interview one of the women here 33 year old seda comes from lunel, near the southern french city of montpellier. since she came to the camp, she no longer wears any cap faced veil. her story is similar to that of many women who once swore allegiance. i s o ministers in may 2015. i was in contact with

people through facebook crystal. i asked about syria and the islamic state because i had a lot of problems and i wanted to disappear for a while. i mean, i decided to come to syria. it's happened in the space of a week, very quickly. level 2. i didn't think about it. what about if i stayed 2 or 3 days in the center for women? and then i got married. did her way up for them to my site. i tells us that after 2 years in syria, she managed to escape the so called us la mic state. she was quickly arrested by kurdish authorities and spent 6 months in prison before being taken to the camp. last year, after a long struggle with the authorities, she was able to send her 2 children to france. mister wilkinson. of course, i regret coming here home. i've hurt my family because i don't feel radicalized or anything. it's been a big punishment to spend 2 years with i. yes. and 3 years in the camp has been

hard to those. and i just want to go back to my normal life to see my children again. well hm. i've known like many handle for i'd like to return to a new normal lifecycle and you know, mine can cita and those like her be trusted or do they pose a danger to society. it's difficult to say for its part the french government considers these women enemies of the state and doesn't want to let them return. for hundreds of french and other western jihadists, men and women. there is little hope of leave in kurdish prisons any time soon. not all former i as members have been arrested far from it. where are the others hiding in the middle east or in european countries like france and germany? a handful of men have made it their mission to find these fugitives. in october 2014, the so called islamic state, i s for short reach the peak of its power. it controlled vast areas of syria and

a rock. for 4 years. the terrorist organisation committed numerous crimes like mass murders and other heinous acts of violence. the self proclaimed caliphate was soon beaten back by airstrikes carried out by nations, including the us, britain, and france. it effectively collapsed after us forces killed its leader. a bull backer, albert daddy died like a dog. he died like a coward. the world is now a much safer place, hulu. the caliphate may have been destroyed, but its supporters are still at large. to hum is assyrian journalist. he fled from ins and 2014. for the past 2 years, he's been in contact with a secret network of private individuals who have made it their mission to track

down former i s members around the world and make them pay for their crimes. much like the nazi hunter is after world war 2, these investigators mostly operate under ground. i. as fighter, as fleeing syria often passed through greek refugee camps before going into hiding ah, can i get to germany or france? is among us to have money. $900.00, all young you live during the war. a lot of syrians applied for asylum and europe. many i as fighters took advantage of that over today, they pretend to be completely different people. there are lots of fake panels got to kind of exploiter canyon how many members of the terrorist group has managed to get into europe? are they still a threat? the i us hunters risk their lives tracking these people down across several

european countries. this is southern turkey were on route e. 90, also known as jihad road from 2012 onward thousands of europeans travelled this route to join i. s and syria and iraq. 33 year old ahmad ramada heads an organization that tracks down. i asked criminals by you. ah, i'm on my way to go deal with several cases for one in particular. or there's a criminal believed to be in germany right now. he was, you know, he was a leading figure in the islamic state organizational where hug. earlier. all schools lived here. ahmad regularly publishes the results of his investigations

online. his networks website lists dozens of wanted people, as well as calls for witnesses, the brew publishes suspects identities, age place of birth, and function within the i s terrorist organization. behind these mat, hands are about 30 investigators, journalists, and activists. many are volunteers. they've all suffered at the hands of the so called islamic state law. robbery the us and i got the board is not far from here. 20 or 30 kilometers away. it's handy because our guys can enter syrian territory, for example, to find out who has left the country. but in terms of security, it's a dangerous area for them. they regularly receive threats. i'm the only one in the network who uses my own name to travel and shows my face so obviously hard. after a 12 hour drive from east dumble, we arrived in san lora for

a border town with $800000.00 inhabitants. it's a hub for traffic to and from syria. ahmad is meeting an informant here in a secret location. we have to disguise the man's identity. while high off model, are you? well, yes, yes, and you love stone. come in. once inside we can start fell maint. having our cameras out on the street would have endangered the 2 men. the informant wanted me to come here in person to hear some very sensitive information to share it on line or over the phone. what has been to dangerous pleasure, what a lot of trouble. so about the guy in germany still show open to we got this video where he appears we started inquiring about the victim, the more jo volleyball, see. the victim's hat was caught on 114 with one

another in the video that the informant acquired a young this la mic state recruit, holds the head of a syrian army soldier. he has apparently just to capitated the man brutal images like these are the hallmark of the islamic state. you know the i, as hunter's got their hands on the video through a relative of the perpetrator, who is from deresa in northeastern syria. ahmad at his informant are also from that city. it's thanks to their connections there that they're able to obtain so much information on the shuttle all along. we know this guy went to germany and we believe he's assaulted sleepily who's waiting to be reactivated. we have a photo of him, so one of our informants has promised to find his residence permit those. now they

have this video evidence, the investigators will track down the eye as fighter. the man is living undetected in germany. much like around 500 other i s militants, who according to our mod, currently reside in europe. one months later we meet off not again. this time in istanbul like thousands of syrians, he sought refuge here 3 years ago. i hello, how are you? good. and you before he began hunting down, i asked criminals he suffered the repression of mush. are all assad's regime or maybe sharla fan launch live here? i'm talking to the demonstrators. oh, well, she's not at the beginning of the arab spring. we demonstrated for freedom every friday. after the revolution began in syria,

we were thrown into prison. after my release, i had to leave damascus in secret and go to de s o. in the northeast of the country . i stayed there until the ice came. a few months later, my father was murdered by the jihadists and i fled the city. after losing his father off mud also lost his brother, who was likewise killed by islamic state fighters. since then, i might have searched for their killers day and night above all on social networks and the dark web, which is a gold mine for information. oh, oh, it's a battle being fought on many fronts of mat himself took great risks for months. filming i asked activities and interviewing victims the members of his group continue to investigate for him. they try to collect as much incriminating evidence

as possible, such as photos, videos, and other documents. other guy, he's a member of the i as police. he also takes witness statements. oh, oh say. once he's made sure the evidence has reliable, i might publish his it on his website that's often led to dramatic captures, like the case against you. so i'll maroon an important i as figure. i don't when we are members of the islamic state. we are the muslims, the hardest to believe in only one god, the world will get to know what the syrian appeared regularly in islamic state propaganda video. thanks to the i. s. hunters who documented has many crimes. he was arrested by special forces in turkey in 2020. the arrest was reported by local media not has thousands of

horrifying images and disturbing threats saved as evidence on his hard drives. well, what was it like watching these videos? and i shouldn't have clear live. i mean, i'm almost used to it. we've seen so many things. we've carried the bodies of our relatives and friends. this is a war mascot and i can't deny that it gets to me. my wife goes on. i have my share . she'll land, are you doing this work to avenge the deaths of your father and brother a whole and although, although it's not about revenge,

it's about justice. we might, is waiting for more detailed information about the younger hottest, who played with a severed head in the video. he saw, he hopes to track him down in germany. he's also working on another case, which is much farther along. this ma'am, was an active i s member will call this fighter muddied keith. i don't talk on my gosh, we have lots installments in day as long we've been observing him for months. he was in charge of procuring weapons and medicine which he collected at the turkish buddha. just before the defeat of ins, he fled to turkey and then to europe. and where's no germany ammonia? another case in germany, we leave it stumble with many questions still unanswered. but we're determined to get to the bottom of these stories. in paris,

we start piecing together the puzzle of muddied, he's very active on social media and seems to live a good life in germany. the ice hunters put us in touch with one of the witnesses from their investigation. he agrees to talk to us as long as he can remain anonymous. and i come from the same region where margie is from. i've been living in germany for some time now and i know maggio personally while we've met more than once. i'm ready to testify in a criminal court. in the witness will give us key details on my ged background. islamic state took control of the dairies all region on june 20th 2014 margie and his group had formed a battalion within the free syrian army, but they became supporters of the islamic state. they supplied, i asked,

with ammunition, heavy weapons, chemical fertilizers can make explosives and even surveillance drones of a joy. to having heard this testimony, we had to the roar an industrial region in western germany. hi, how are you? fine, thanks. a little league and we'll be with you and. and i did, i'm vicky any with the she they did. we're meeting with a syrian enforcement who's investigated, maggi the most for his protection. will call him tarik. hello. light. come in. like all of the, i, as hunter's towel, rack has lost loved ones. his cousin was hanged and public by islamic state

fighters and many of his friends were shot dead as a refugee in germany. he's been tracking muddied for 5 years. europe the hall warn him, but it wasn't oil obama. he arrived with his family in europe under the same conditions as us working on an inflatable boat. wow. the only difference is he had money to pay for all the travel expenses weren't. once he got out of syria, he set up a money transfer company to bring huge amounts of funds out of the caliphate territories. also national high level, i asked members recovered the money once they'd reached turkey or euro tucker on political was all along through our network, we obtained this photo of the money transfer officer. he'd sent up in the turkish city of l. a. z on this is his office when when he arrived in our organization published an article that was picked up by the bills newspaper on victor. good o money. the german tabloid reported magic arrest and release in 2015.

do police arrested a suspect and a refugee shantay, an owner on thursday afternoon, the syrian is said to have worked for islamic states, finance ministry. the 31 year old man was released from police custody. authorized could not prove he was a member of the terrorist organization. the man arrived about a week ago with his sister and her husband, who has had a leg amputated. this image from 2014 shows, a man said to be my jade's brother in law. in an ice military uniform and here a few months later with his leg amputated as a result of a coalition air strike. muddied stands next to him with his finger raised a symbol of loyalty to ins. magic now lives under the radar in germany. that

fact may be shocking to many battle rec, isn't really surprised in walking along the germans say that he's not a danger to them. how he supposed to be helping them obtain information in their fight against. i asked them for his brothers are still in the organization. do you think the authorities are protecting him? oh oh yes. it's a serious accusation. but the i s. hunters won't be deterred. they've continued to investigate, muddied, since his brave detention car wreck has just obtained some important new information. a few months ago. the suspect opened a massage parlor. well, hi of maud. how are you? it's a surprising lead, and he wastes no time telling us about the head of the investigation at work. jekyll shushing, remember the person who told us maggie had come to germany a long you?

yes. or no. show or saw a job in the holland. he just called and told is that my jeep has opened a massage parlor in germany. b o one. 0, how can i is condra. he fled to europe and only gets 3 or 400 years in social benefits per month. we start a project like that. so you will have to find out on mobile. oh hm. see especially since my information shows, he also owns 4 or 6 cars without license plates. and that he has them parked in front of his house to sell them on the original. it would be good to use a hidden camera here. let me know if you're able to film racial issues despite the risks in a few days. tar wreck will track down, muddied and film him with the hidden camera. so meanwhile, there's new information about the other case identified in germany.

the investigators have sent us pictures of the younger hottest, who they say the headed his victims will call him samir. pictures of him taken in both syria and germany were found on his facebook account. in the photo on the left, he just turned 17 to day. he's 23. he's grown, but it certainly seems to be the same person. another crucial piece of information is his passport issued by german authorities. in 2015, a member of the network of iron hunters got her hands on the document after seducing him online and winning his trust. she eventually asked him for a photo of his passport, so she could send him money. a commands team also collected for incriminating witness testimonies. one of the witnesses was prepared to talk to us. he was

a childhood friend of sammy or the other for join the islamic state in 2014. he was a kid who was always playing around on a motorcycle them with when i asked took over the dare as all area in 2014. he pledged allegiance to them, you know, the conflict club. but then he underwent 6 months of training in iraq. but from a month after he got back from iraq in early 2015, his financial situation had changed dramatically. could be good. he was driving in a nice new car all that us and didn't seem to want for anything. but just a couple weeks ago, look, when he was fighting in the airport area, he used to cut off the heads of enemy soldiers hold their heads

a lot and brag about it. sometimes he bring these heads into the city center and play soccer with them, but these horrifying tendencies are said to have allowed him to rise quickly in the hierarchy. as one of the terrorist groups intelligence agents, he left their resolve for turkey. at the end of 2015. from there he went secretly to europe in early 2016. but 6 months later he returned without any problem to syria, to darrow's arg was shut. mm. sonia was indeed in syria and lay 2016 as this picture shows. there was unseasonal snow and arizona that winter, even the local press covered it. the northern syrian province of debt as or has experienced heavy snowfall and freezing conditions for the 1st time in 25 years . according to the witness, samuel left syria for good in 2017 and returned to germany.

this information helped us to locate the suspect in botton thornburg, a german state bordering france. he lives in an outer suburb of a large city. he's taking driving lessons in order to get his truck drivers license for safety reasons. we prefer to approach him on the street on his way home. protocol, excuse me, can i ask you something again? yes. and then i'm doing a report on the street. and he does, you have a minute, you know, what i would say about video. it's the university fan, coloma has the current virus changed your life here. after gaining his trust, we're able to talk with the alleged former i as fighter for quite a while. mobile comp, which part of syria you from language, should your own dear as all where is that? does need the border with iraq?

yeah. the man is from dairies all. the former economic hub of the islamic state, which we learned was this boil everywhere. it wound up at the spot and on the oil was under. i asked control yet brought up until. ready your pores was, everything was under i as controlled with coca cola. soon as i saw a say you had to work for them by the of, as a transport and mimicry, available to be. no, but i had to buy oil from them until finished this room from michigan. so i don't want sammy or doesn't admit to having worked for ins, but he does make a shocking admission. won't all be the swan. i was with the police back home and it was the police, your jobby, my hobby is right. it's a chilling hobby in light of the barbaric acts that a mads team accused him of. in this 1st meeting, we don't mention the decapitation video that we have.

rec, father. well, why did you leave this area for chose hotel, sharon, or go my only choices were to die. well morrow to fight against masha. allah sod. or to fight for him? would a duty should begin with so so what if i wanted to survive? oh, i would have had to kill people rushed toward the machine on either side and i didn't want to have blood on my hands a 100 to listen to him. you wouldn't think sammy or has a guilty conscience for 45 minutes. we have a relax conversation with him. thank you. by next time we see him, we'll confront him with the video. marcell . february 2020, musty naima. a 32 year old syrian student was arrested in the no

a district. the arrest made headlines and france, musty name are also known by his nom de, gail, islam i lucian was a big fish. he was the spokesman of j alice lamb. one of the many jihadist groups in the syria conflict with me in the name of god, the merciful. this is a statement from the chief of staff of the j. o islam group france accused him of war crimes. his group used caged civilians as human shields, to avoid being bogged by the assad regime with men of we pray that the regime and the russian air force stops bombing us. we are innocent, one of the people here and that children have not committed any sin. we had this silly in 2016, he la mallos, fled syria for e stumble, where he created a new identity for himself. he got a degree in political science,

specializing insecurity and terrorism. he arrived in france in november 2019, and was arrested 3 months later by the central office for combating crimes against humanity and hate crimes. we managed to get an exclusive interview with the head of the authority that arrested is lamar loose. for the 1st time, the officer shares details of the operation yesterday diaries will tell you toya when he arrived on french soil, he had a conversation using his turkish number and then used a french number all will know, eva, we quickly managed to find his address in more se i thought it was from that moment on a new could we asked surveillance officials in more say to set up and carry out 24 hour monitoring it under no circumstances. was he to leave france kids today. talk with surveillance, set up authorities waited 2 days before the suspect finally left his home

puzzlement all over. so it was very early in the morning about a quarter past 6 that he said he had a suitcase and a backpack, especially if we didn't know where he was going or what he was planning to do. the agents on the ground determined that he was going to the mosque. so we let him pray . he saw them was he came out of the mos heading for the central train station. this then was it is a police decided to arrest him there on the street. the fellowship it seems. islam allusion was about to leave. france was he warned. and if so, by whom the police operation was a success. but it wouldn't have been possible without the work of assyrian and geo, based at a hidden location in paris. in the small office, 15 exiled syrian lawyers work to build cases against alleged war criminals so that they can be tried in european courts. within the n g o motor seem

is in charge of the islam alice investigation, he tells us how the former spokesman of the jihad, his group was recognized by a syrian refugee on the streets of marseilles. a muscle, the hustle mercado from know all the shots. that's how we learned he was in france . full were so he got in touch with the victims and witnesses of the crimes. he ain't committed, austin. and then we gave all that evidence to the ministry of johnston. sometimes it'll be more now a couple of god. what does seem says there are countless cases like islam, alicia's across europe, 100 to missouri, yanine luring, the won a lot of syrians applying for asylum in europe. so many of these guys took advantage of that a few. today they make themselves out to be completely different people with fake passports. then they tried to disguise them past more, but they can't hide it completely. mothers. how many former jihadists has managed

to slip through the cracks, legally or otherwise? how many of them are now living incognito in europe? back in germany, we meet with i s hunter tar wreck. this morning he's going to take a risk and covertly film the suspected to hardest. now running a massage parlor window, aren't you afraid to do that? after all, he is a former i as member on the run thought on fusion report, broken years have gotten more, but we're in germany. sure. you know, that reduces the risk mercantile mom still, he can't be trusted for it. he still potentially dangerous her control him. so we have to be ready for anything. so unless you oh, this is a hidden camera. i hope all goes well. yes. so look a little clear. there's no going back now. after

a short drive, we reached the address. a few minutes later marguerite arrives. this is the moment of truth to rec is also from there is a like the suspect, there's a chance he could recognize him, excuse me. and i was told that there was a massage parlor in the neighbourhood. yes, i run into the house. oh, it's yours. oh, let me just pock my car. sure. finally, tall wreck is face to face with a man. he's been hunting down for the past 5 years. my g accused of running logistics and finance for the islamic state doesn't seem to suspect anything. how are you? good, your the physiotherapist? yes, i am. he's just a friend. come in. the massage parlor is almost empty. it's cold, with almost no decor. the folder seemed to still

be in there. packaging with no patient records inside. the massage parlor could be a cover for something else. and okay, do you do copying here? yes, we specialize in islamic physiotherapy and i see where did you learn it in august while studying postwar calling in germany, noah. oh yes, i studied here and i also graduated in syria. if he stays tarik might have to take off his shirt revealing the hidden camera aware of the danger he decides to find an excuse and leave. would you like to make an appointment? well no, it's better if i call you next week. okay, good. uh huh. fall, thanks l m i c out the graph is that was that your name on the card? hello? yes, that's me. okay. see you just

don't wanna be talked to you. do you think he recognized you long? i don't think so. i would have noticed shove, he was with a friend that i'm sure i know him, but he didn't recognize me. as a school, i think we must have met about 5 years ago. but i was on that's probably why he didn't rec, nice me. so can law corner the meeting has made to rec, fearful, and he decides to stop his investigation. it's up to us to take over a few days later we go back to the massage parlor. there's no answer we don't have maggi to address, but we do have his phone number i

do my how do i how are you? good, dr. margie dealer. yes, that's me. and as a loan, basically, i'm staying in a hotel near your massage parlor in marietta debate. i'm having back pain. i saw the sign for the parlor on my mity lick, marked, and i thought you could maybe help me denisha of to let the pharmacy won't, can it? sorry, we have the mobile whatever your questions are as a journalist, i'm happy to answer them over the phone. to our surprise, magic knew the real purpose of our cow. was he tipped off by whom or no, no, no, my lamar, listen. we have information that you were part of. i yes, that you worked with them. i was shabby. william, who told you that i might scan them in and i several people and witnesses said you

were working for the group, fisher hold. good man, i li, i can look into good to go to my in my drawer. liza lies. i left syria in 2013. before is lemay state had a presence in syria. oh, good. but you didn't come to germany alone in though of your brother in law came to also he has an amputated leg and is said to have fought for ins, loose in what you're saying doesn't make sense, you're making it up on the wrong. muddied doesn't know that we have this photo of him with his brother in law, according to the i as hunter's, it was taken in syria in 2014. this story is from 5 years ago. if there really were witnesses or a photo as proof, i'd have been charged in court a long time ago. these witnesses exist and are ready to cooperate with the german justice system. but so far there is no official investigation against

muddied. so you weren't with ins, didn't transfer money between turkey and syria, and your brother in law wasn't with io. it's not true. i only speak for myself. despite my ged denial, all the information we've gathered seems conclusive and relevant to public safety. we decide to inform the german authorities but after an e mail and as a mess exchange, and 2 meetings with german officials in paris, nothing happens is muddied, being protect said as the i s hunter suspect, we may never know, but right now in the eyes of german authorities, he's done nothing wrong but our investigations at germany aren't finished yet. after maggie, we now want to confront samir, the man accused of cutting off the heads of his enemies. to minimize the risk we arrange to meet him in a public place,

a train station near his home. we immediately tell him why we've come back and i have a question she asked, i've done some research and i have information that you were part of. i answer in syria into a song and cry from jealous. no, that's what the police thought you were questioned by the police. i yes, at my home, they took my phone and searched the apartment. they asked me if i knew certain people. well, i told them i didn't know the people george, to our surprise. some here has already been investigated by german police, so you're not, they saw me, are we looking for mad at home? oh, well i don't know him. the police said they had a video from a government agency, and i thought i was the person in the video. they showed it to me, and i told them very clearly that it wasn't me. there was robert. it's time to show him the video with a severed head. that's not you. sure you think he looks like me?

i don't know. do you think that guys made? isn't he? definitely not familiar? sure, that's not you. oh yes. certain. i think it's the same face. if i wasn't innocent, i wouldn't have stayed here. i've a clean conscience solved. the man calmly denies everything. it's strange that you have information, give it to the authorities and we'll see. great. okay, thanks bye. mm hm. when we leave samir, we are at a loss. we call the young man who's prepared to testify against him. people, how are you? good. and you are man measured by thanks of the diesel college. i want to ask you something about samira. i'm a look the problem. ok, i filmed him with a hidden camera rose or go and he denied he was in the video. he's all right. yes.

really talk. when he was 16, he was already taller than me and i'm older. for several minutes the young man studied the hidden camera footage a bit. so he has a beard now, but his eyes, his face, his voice. it's him no doubt, even if he denies it. was there any, are you really sure it's him? well, i have no reason to falsely accuse him, it's 1000000 percent him we have one final car to play facial recognition software that has already proven useful and numerous investigations. comparing pictures of the man then, and now we get results that leaves little room for doubt. the software design or say a score of more than 0.6 means you can assume it's the same person. most of our results are around 0.8.

even so, sammy or isn't subject to any legal proceedings before finishing our investigation. we hear that something disturbing has happened to mud the leader of the i s hunting network. a week earlier he received a photograph showing him playing with his young daughter in an east humble park. the picture came with a blunt threat to you, the heretical appetite infidel off my to ramadan. we swear before god that we are always on your tail. the lions and wolves of the kind of fate can't wait to approach you and kill you to please god. this picture is just the tip of the iceberg. i'm thinking mm. as soon as they got the thread, i moved house. the thing that made the match was that i published my research about

the woman who was in charge of the lumber police, the women underwrite. yes. i mean 2 days later they sent me the man bench and he does, but does not worried about his family. he's also disillusioned to problems that are work rarely lead to any consequences. like with my ged and some governments want to video was sitting next to our baghdad. otherwise they don't think for a prosecution to real problems for us. it's possible that our fleet soon or maybe i'll put this job on hold for a while then who will have the courage to continue the work of the mud and his team? how many former militants will face justice?

how many will remain free? one thing is certain in iraq and syria, islamic state is rebuilding itself underground and carrying out bloody attacks again and again. the hunt is far from over me. ah. this i me. oh works of compose edition ha ha. adult hitler's

obsession. ah, has ever been better background music for megalomania, gross and vaughan? arts, 21. in 30 minutes on d. w. o. the world over information. they provide the opinions they want to express. d. w on facebook and twitter. up to date and in touch. follow us. mm hm.

ah ah, this is d, dublin years live from berlin. ukraine calls for an investigation until miss al strike, which killed dozens of russian held prisoners of war. president village immerse lansky describes the attack as deliberate, mass murder, families of the dead rally and protest also on the program.