Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
USA army Initiated transfer of islamic state group detainee from the northeast Syria Ensure the safety of your facility Iraqmovement caused by transfer control The situation in the region and concerns about a potential breakthrough.
this Operation Syrian government forces have taken over a sprawling camp housing thousands of people, mainly women and children. childrenfrom U.S.-backed Syria democracy The Self-Defense Forces withdrew as part of the ceasefire agreement.
In the initial transfer, 150 suspected ISIS members were moved from the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah to “safe locations” in Iraq. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said up to 7,000 detainees could eventually be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.
Gen. Brad Cooper, commander of Central Command, emphasized the criticality of the operation, saying: “Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breach that poses a direct threat to U.S. and regional security.” He confirmed that the transfer was coordinated with regional partners, including Iraq.
An Iraqi intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the agreement with the United States to transfer 7,000 detainees. Iraq received its first batch of 144 people on Wednesday night, with plans to later transfer them to Iraqi prisons by plane.
The general noted that the transferred ISIS members were from various nationalities, including about 240 Tunisians, as well as from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and some Syrians.
“They will be interrogated and then put on trial. They are all Islamic State commanders and considered highly dangerous,” he added, recalling the previous handover of 3,194 Iraqi and 47 French detainees.
Despite the Islamic State’s defeat in Iraq in 2017 and Syria two years later, sleeper cells have continued to carry out deadly attacks in both countries. The U.S. military reported that it detained more than 300 ISIS operatives in Syria last year and killed more than 20 people.
Tom Barak, the U.S. envoy to Syria, said the SDF’s role as the main anti-Islamic State force “has essentially expired, as Damascus is now willing and able to take over security responsibilities.” He added that “recent developments suggest that the United States is actively promoting this transition rather than prolonging the SDF’s independent role.”
Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed the transfer of the detainees, calling it “an important step towards strengthening security and stability”. Earlier on Wednesday, government forces entered the Al Hol camp in armored vehicles after two weeks of clashes with the SDF.
The camp, which once housed 73,000 people, now houses about 24,000, mostly women and children, including 14,500 Syrians and nearly 3,000 Iraqis. A heavily fortified area houses about 6,500 people, many of whom are loyal supporters of ISIS. An anonymous Iraqi woman in the camp described the dire conditions: “Go in and see the chaos that’s going on. There’s no clinic, no running water, no bread, no vegetables.”
Recent events have underscored the instability, including a drone strike in Yarubiyeh on Wednesday that killed seven soldiers and wounded 20 others, an attack that the Defense Ministry blamed on Kurdish forces.
The SDF countered that the explosion was caused by soldiers moving ammunition. The SDF and the Syrian government have blamed each other for Monday’s escape of Islamic State members from Shadad prison, which government forces were supposed to have controlled. Brig. Syrian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Hassan Abdel-Ghaani confirmed that the government “has been and still is in direct confrontation with the Islamic State” and is ready to manage prisons where its members are held.