Iraqi Defense Minister Irfan al-Hayali has apologised for describing detained ISIS militants as "war prisoners".

Axar.az reports citing AA.

In a statement on Sunday, al-Hayali said he was sorry for "the confusion caused by his speech about the treatment of ISIS members as war prisoners".

" ISIS members are killers and criminals," he said.

"It's a terrorist organisation and UN conventions don't apply to it," al-Hayali said, adding that ISIS militants "will be treated according to Iraqi laws".

Last week, the Iraqi minister told reporters that ISIS militants held by Iraqi forces will be treated as war prisoners.

Military expert Khalil al-Nuaimi said Daesh militants don't fall under Geneva Conventions about the treatment of war prisoners.

"Prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention are those who were detained during military fighting between two states, not between a state and a terrorist organisation," he told Anadolu Agency.

The Iraqi military is engaged in a wide-ranging campaign launched last October to recapture the entire city of Mosul, which ISIS overran in mid-2014.

Hundreds of ISIS militants have been captured by Iraqi forces during the fighting.