Iraq confirms arrival of first group of ISIS detainees from Syria

BAGHDAD — Iraq has begun receiving Islamic State detainees from northeastern Syria who were previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, following recent territorial shifts and rising security concerns in the region.

U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday the start of a mission to transfer Islamic State detainees from northeastern Syria to detention facilities in Iraq. CENTCOM said the initial phase of the mission moved 150 ISIS fighters from Hasakah to Iraq, and the program could ultimately involve the transfer of up to 7,000 detainees.

In a statement issued by the spokesman for the Iraq’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sabah Al-Numan, the Iraqi government confirmed that 150 individuals — both Iraqi and foreign nationals — have been transferred to Iraqi prisons. The detainees were described as “deeply involved in the killing of innocent Iraqis.”

The move comes as part of Iraq’s coordination with the International Coalition to Defeat Daesh and follows an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security.

“The Ministerial Council for National Security, during its most recent emergency meeting, approved, in cooperation with the International Coalition to Defeat Daesh, Iraq’s reception of terrorists of Iraqi nationality and other nationalities who were held in prisons previously under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces,” the statement said.

Future transfers will be based on security and field assessments, with a focus on mitigating the threat posed by what the government described as “first-tier leaders within terrorist organizations.”

The announcement comes as Syrian government forces and allied armed groups continue assaults against Kurdish-held areas in northeastern Syria, including Rojava, raising regional fears of wider instability and the possible resurgence of the Islamic State group.