The United States has begun transferring detainees linked to ISIL (ISIS) from northeastern Syria to Iraq, as Syrian government forces continue to expand their control over areas previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
In a statement on Wednesday, the US military said it had transferred 150 detainees from a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq.
The move comes as Damascus extends its authority into formerly Kurdish-controlled parts of northeastern Syria, where several camps and prisons housing ISIL fighters and their families are located. Until recently, these facilities were guarded and administered by the SDF.
As government forces advanced, the SDF withdrew from several areas, including al-Hol camp, Syria’s largest facility for family members of ISIL fighters. The Syrian government announced a new ceasefire agreement with the SDF late on Tuesday.
The US military said as many as 7,000 people suspected of links to ISIL could eventually be transferred to Iraqi-run facilities.
“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said US Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US forces in the Middle East.
He added that ensuring the secure transfer of detainees was essential to preventing mass prison breakouts that could pose a direct threat to US and regional security.
The announcement followed comments by the US special envoy to Syria, who said Washington’s main partner in the fight against ISIL would now be the Syrian government rather than the SDF, which had played that role for years.
Iraq later confirmed it had approved the transfers after assessing the evolving security situation in Syria and its potential impact, particularly regarding control over detained militants.
“The National Security Council approved Iraq’s reception of terrorists of Iraqi nationality as well as other nationalities who were detained in prisons previously under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces,” said Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq’s armed forces commander-in-chief.
“These detainees will be transferred to government-run correctional institutions.
The first batch has already arrived and includes 150 terrorist elements, Iraqis and foreigners, who were involved in the killing of innocent Iraqis,” he said.
Although ISIL was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, sleeper cells continue to carry out attacks in both countries.
The SDF played a key role in the group’s defeat.
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