A man holds his twin daughters who had joined the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya, at Khartoum airport in Khartoum, Sudan, April 4, 2018. A group of Sudanese, who had joined the IS group in Libya and eventually abandoned the terrorists, returned home on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

KHARTOUM, April 4 (Xinhua) -- A group of Sudanese, who had joined the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya and eventually abandoned the terrorists, returned home on Wednesday.

The group of seven women and three children, who had fought alongside the IS in Libya, on Wednesday arrived in Sudan's capital Khartoum on a Turkish Airlines plane.

The efforts were made by the Sudan National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in accordance with the directives of President Omar Al-Bashir, said Brig. Al-Tigani Ibrahim, director of NISS counter-terrorism department, at a press conference at Khartoum Airport.

He said the returnees would undergo a rehabilitation program before integrating into society.

"We return today upon our own will. We thank the president of the republic and the National Intelligence and Security Service for securing our return to the homeland," Manar Abdul-Salam, one of the returnees, told the press.

It is the third time that the NISS has managed to recall Sudanese citizens from the IS. In June 2017, eight children of Sudanese IS members returned home, after their parents -- who had joined the terrorists in the Libyan city of Sirte since 2015 -- had been killed or arrested.??