Iraq Receives Over 4,500 ISIS Detainees Transferred from Syria

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iraq has received more than 4,500 suspected ISIS members transferred from Syria as part of a US-led operation to relocate detainees previously held in Kurdish-controlled areas, an Iraqi security official confirmed on Tuesday.

Saad Maan, spokesperson for the Iraqi government’s Security Media Cell, told AFP that 4,583 detainees have so far been transferred to Iraq. The group includes Iraqi, Syrian, and European nationals, among others.

The transfers began last month after Syrian government forces took control of areas where thousands of ISIS suspects had been detained by Kurdish fighters (Sharvan) following the group’s territorial defeat. The detainees are part of an estimated 7,000 suspected jihadists the US military has been relocating from Syria.

Iraq declared victory over ISIS in 2017 with the backing of a US-led international coalition, while the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated the group’s remaining strongholds in Syria in 2019. Following the collapse of the so-called caliphate, the SDF detained thousands of suspected fighters and held tens of thousands of their family members in camps.

Iraq’s judiciary announced earlier this month that it has launched investigations into the transferred detainees, as authorities move to process the cases in accordance with Iraqi law.

The international coalition, on Feb. 8, transferred ISIS detainees from Western Kurdistan (northeastern Syria) to Iraq under heavy security, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The operation involved multiple bus convoys escorted by armored vehicles and supported by aerial surveillance, moving detainees from Hasakah and Qamishlo toward the Iraqi border.

The transfers were part of ongoing coordination between the coalition and Iraqi authorities to secure border areas and manage ISIS prisoners. The detainees include Iraqi, Syrian, and foreign nationals and are being held in high-security facilities.

Iraqi authorities said the process was conducted via land and air routes, with direct coalition involvement, and was overseen by a high-level security and judicial committee.

IS seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, carrying out mass killings and widespread abuses, including the enslavement of women and girls. Since its defeat, Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences and life prison terms to those convicted on terrorism charges.