Iraqi authorities affirm the switch, saying detainees of 61 nationalities have arrived within the nation.
Revealed On 15 Feb 2026
America has introduced the completion of the switch of greater than 5,700 suspected ISIL (ISIS) detainees from Syria to Iraq.
“The 23-day switch mission started on Jan 21 and resulted in US forces efficiently transporting greater than 5,700 grownup male ISIS fighters from detention services in Syria to Iraqi custody,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated in an announcement on X on Saturday.
Really useful Tales
checklist of 4 objectsfinish of checklist
The operation was completed after an evening flight from northeastern Syria to Iraq passed off on February 12, “to assist guarantee ISIS detainees stay safe in detention services”, CENTCOM added.
The US had beforehand introduced it will switch about 7,000 detainees.
The detainees from some 60 nations had for years been held in Syrian prisons run by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) earlier than the recapture of surrounding territory by the Syrian authorities prompted the US to step in.
ISIL swept throughout Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing ladies and women into sexual slavery.
Backed by US-led forces, Iraq proclaimed a victory over ISIL within the nation in 2017, and the SDF in the end defeated the armed group in Syria two years later.
The SDF went on to jail hundreds of suspected fighters and detain tens of hundreds of their kinfolk in camps.
Iraq’s Nationwide Centre for Worldwide Judicial Cooperation (NCIJC) stated 5,704 ISIL detainees of 61 nationalities had arrived in Iraq. They embody 3,543 Syrians, 467 Iraqis, and one other 710 detainees from different Arab nations.
There are additionally greater than 980 foreigners, together with these from Europe, Asia, Australia and the US.
“We recognize Iraq’s management and recognition that transferring the detainees is crucial to regional safety,” stated CENTCOM head, Admiral Brad Cooper. “Job properly performed to the complete Joint Power crew who executed this exceptionally difficult mission on the bottom and within the air.”
The NCIJC stated Iraq’s judiciary will interrogate the detainees earlier than taking authorized motion in opposition to them.
Final month, Syrian troops drove the SDF from swaths of northern Syria, prompting questions over the destiny of the ISIL prisoners. Lingering doubts about safety pushed the US to announce it will switch them to Iraq to forestall “a breakout” that might threaten the area.
Iraq has issued requires nations to repatriate their nationals among the many ISIL detainees, although this seems unlikely.
For years, the SDF additionally known as on international governments to take again their residents, however this was performed on a small scale and remained restricted to ladies and kids held in detention camps.
Most international households have left northeast Syria’s al-Hol camp, which is the biggest camp holding kinfolk of ISIL fighters, for the reason that departure of the SDF, which beforehand guarded it, humanitarian sources advised the AFP information company on Thursday.
Al Jazeera’s Assad Beig stated the al-Hol camp, established in 2019 after ISIL was defeated in Syria, developed a “infamous status” through the years.
“Help employees documented the killings and underground ISIL enforcement teams, whereas safety officers warned it was a breeding floor for future armed teams,” he stated.
