A recent survey showed that about 65 percent of respondents believe that the Norwegian authorities should bring home children of persons who have joined the extremist group Islamic State (IS), online newspaper Norway Today reported Sunday.

In the survey that was conducted by Respons Analyse, an analysis agency in Norway, 31 percent of respondents believe that the children in any case must get home to Norway and 33 percent believe it should happen under certain conditions.

Meanwhile, 20 percent responded "no", while 15 percent responded "don't know".

Fifteen percent think one of the prerequisites should be that the children are under a certain age to be able to be taken home. Ten percent think the children who are brought home must be born in Norway, while 7 percent believe the children should only be taken home if their parents are ethnic Norwegian.

The survey showed that women are more positive than men to let the children be brought back to Norway -- 38 percent of women who were asked showed unconditional support for return for the children, while only 25 percent of males responded the same.

According to Norwegian security services, around 40 Norwegian children were born or taken to live inside the so-called IS in Syria and Iraq. The fate of the children, almost all who were born in IS territory, is unclear.

Norwegian foreign minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said last month that all Norwegian citizens have a right to travel into Norway. However, anyone who set off to fight for IS faces prosecution in Norway, meaning they're likely to be arrested at the border.

She also said Norwegian citizens who traveled to the Middle East to fight for or support the IS can't expect to be brought home again at taxpayer expense. They'll have to seek consular assistance themselves from where they are.