ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The family of an Iraqi young man killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in the Russia-Ukraine war last week say he had planned to migrate to Germany but was "deceived" into joining the conflict.
Abdullah Salman is among hundreds of Iraqis believed to have joined the Russians in the war.
"Like any young man, he wanted to go to Germany to work. They took them out and made them sign papers. They were deceived and taken to Russia. The child had no power to confront them. Their phones were confiscated. After 20 days, he sent a message home saying he was in the war," his cousin Ahmed Riyaz told Rudaw on Saturday.
Three months ago, Abdullah, 22, and four other young men left the Iraqi city of Kut in Wasit province to Iran, and from there they were sent to the battlefields in Russia.
The national security advisor of Iraq said on Wednesday that hundreds of Iraqis are participating in the Russia-Ukraine war and that a government committee has been formed to bring them home.
Nearly four years have passed since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties. With US mediation, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have intensified, though prospects for a breakthrough remain uncertain.
There is no accurate data available on how many Iraqis are on the battlefields participating in the Ukraine-Russia war.
"There are relevant parties inside Iraq who deceive young people and exploit them with money, marriage to Russian women, citizenship, land, apartments, and such things. Many young men were deceived this way in Iraq, went to Russia, and are now fighting in the war," Hussein Raed, a friend of Abdullah, told Rudaw.
Ziyad Ismail contributed to this article from Kut, Wasit.