Iraq receives 2,259 ISIS detainees from Syria as courts begin investigations

BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities have received 2,259 Islamic State detainees transferred from camps and prisons in northeastern Syria, a security source told 964media on Friday, as courts begin investigations into suspects returned under Iraqi jurisdiction.

The source said the detainees include Iraqis, Syrians and other nationalities, adding that “the transfer process was carried out by land and air in cooperation with the international coalition.”

Iraq’s First Karkh Investigative Court announced this week it had started procedures for 1,387 Islamic State members recently received from Syrian detention facilities.

The Supreme Judicial Council said “investigations have commenced through a number of judges specialized in counterterrorism” under direct supervision of the council’s president. Procedures will be carried out “within the approved legal and humanitarian frameworks and in a manner consistent with national laws and international standards.”

The council said the expected number of transferred detainees “may exceed 7,000 ISIS members” and that the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation will document and provide investigative authorities with “previously archived documents and evidence.”

The move is part of Iraq’s efforts to hold accountable those involved in Islamic State crimes, in coordination with international partners addressing “crimes that rise to the level of genocide and crimes against humanity,” according to the council.

Government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi said “the transfer of ISIS terrorists from Syria is a preemptive step to defend Iraqi national security,” adding that judicial procedures had begun after careful study.

Military spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said “legal files are before the judiciary awaiting these detainees, whether Iraqi or foreign,” calling the transfer a sovereign decision taken to achieve “higher security and judicial interests.”

The Supreme Judicial Council has said all transferred suspects, regardless of nationality or rank, fall exclusively under Iraqi jurisdiction, with crimes documented and prosecuted under Iraqi law.