The United States launched an operation on Wednesday that could ultimately transfer up to 7,000 detainees allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group from Syria to neighboring Iraq, the US military said.
The aim of the operation — which began with the movement of 150 alleged fighters — is to ensure the people “remain in secure detention facilities,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X.
“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government,” the post quoted CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper as saying.
“Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security,” Cooper added, using an alternate acronym for IS.
In a deal reached Sunday that included a ceasefire and the integration of ethnic Kurds’ administration into the state, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi agreed that the government would take over responsibility for prisoners accused of being part of IS.
Thousands of detainees are held in seven prisons in northeast Syria, while tens of thousands of people thought to be their family members live in the Al-Hol and Roj camps.
The United States, which heads an international coalition that backed the Kurds against IS, said this week that the purpose of its alliance with the SDF had largely ended years after they defeated the armed group.
Washington now supports Syria’s new Islamist political authorities — once commanders affiliated with the Al-Qaeda armed group themselves — who are seeking to extend their control across the country after years of civil war.
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