Iraq Secures Transfer of Over 4,500 ISIS Detainees from Syria in Coordination with US Coalition
BAGHDAD — Iraq has successfully transferred more than 4,500 Islamic State (ISIS) detainees from Syria to Iraqi custody as part of a major security operation coordinated with the US-led international coalition. The transfer, confirmed by Iraqi military officials on Thursday, aims to mitigate the growing risk of prison breaks and instability in northeastern Syria, ensuring that high-risk combatants remain in secure detention.
According to Iraqi authorities, the operation has so far relocated 4,583 detainees out of an estimated 7,000 scheduled for transfer. The prisoners, who include Iraqi nationals, Syrians, and foreign fighters from over 60 countries, are being moved by land and air to maximum-security facilities within Iraq. The transfers come in response to the deteriorating security situation in Syria, where control over detention centers has shifted following recent clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government troops.
Major General Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, stated that the operation is proceeding under strict security measures. “The process of transferring terrorist elements is ongoing and is being conducted with high precision to prevent any security breaches,” Maan said. He emphasized that the primary goal is to prevent these detainees from becoming a “ticking time bomb” that could threaten regional stability if they were to escape during the turmoil in Syria.
The detainees are being placed under the authority of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice. Judicial proceedings have already commenced, with Iraqi courts setting up specialized investigative committees to process the cases. Authorities have indicated that the suspects will be tried under Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law, which carries severe penalties for membership in extremist organizations and participation in acts of violence.
Sabah al-Numan, a spokesman for the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service, described the government’s decision to accept the transfers as a “bold and calculated” preemptive measure. “Leaving these terrorists in Syrian prisons without adequate control posed a direct threat to Iraq’s national security,” al-Numan told state media. “By bringing them into our custody, we ensure they face justice and can no longer plot attacks against our citizens.”
The logistics of the transfer have been heavily supported by the US-led coalition, which has provided aerial surveillance and armored transport to ensure the safe passage of the convoys across the border. The operation reflects a deepening of security cooperation between Baghdad and Washington as both capitals work to prevent a resurgence of ISIS, which lost its territorial caliphate in 2019 but remains a persistent underground threat.
Iraqi officials have also renewed their calls for foreign governments to repatriate their nationals among the detainees. While the majority of those transferred are Iraqi or Syrian, hundreds of foreign fighters from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere remain in legal limbo. Baghdad has urged the international community to take responsibility for their citizens to help close the file on ISIS detainees definitively.
The transfer operation is expected to conclude in the coming days, with Iraqi forces maintaining a heightened state of alert along the border to intercept any potential infiltrators attempting to flee the shifting frontlines in Syria.
* alhurra.com
* basnews.com
* substack.com
* washingtonpost.com
* timesofisrael.com
* jpost.com
* aa.com.tr
* kurdistan24.net
* thecradle.co
* themedialine.org
* pbs.org
