US begins transfer of IS fighters from Syria to Iraq

The US thanked Iraq for its cooperation to transfer up to 7,000 prisoners out of Syria, after the Kurdish-led SDF lost control over the territory where the prisoner camps were held.

Islamic State (IS) detainees who were being held in northeastern Syria will be transferred to secure facilities in Iraq, the US army said on Wednesday.

The US Central Command said in a statement that the operation to transfer the detainees had begun, with 150 IS fighters already on their way to Iraq.

"We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS," said CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper.

"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," he added.

The CENTCOM statement said that up to 7,000 prisoners could be transferred to Iraq.

Syria's Foreign Ministry said the transfer of the detainees represented "an important step to strengthen security and stability."

Why are they being transferred?

Syrian government forces entered areas of northeastern Syria over the weekend, in a move to expand its territorial control over the country, driving away Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters who held the territory.

IS fighters and their families were being held in prisoner camps overseen by the SDF, but as the Syrian army advance, the SDF said it had to abandon their post at northeastern al-Hol camp, holding mostly women and children, and al-Aqtan prison for IS fighters.

At al-Hol, some 24,000 were still being held when the SDF retreated.

Who are the prisoners?

The IS group was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and two years later, it was defeated in Syria. The threat was not eliminated entirely; the group's sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in both countries. 

According to an Iraqi intelligence general, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, the IS members who will be transferred to Iraq are of different nationalities. 

He added that they included fighters from Tunisia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and some Syrians, among others.

The general told AP that the fighters are expected to be interrogated and then put on trial in Iraq.

US ends it alliance with SDF

The SDF, backed by a US-led coalition, defeated IS in Syria in 2019, and in the course of that fight, the Kurds acquired large swathes of territory.

A day after Washington said the purpose of its alliance with the Syrian Kurds had largely ended, with the US now backing Syria's Islamist authorities who are seeking to extend their grip on the country after years of civil war.

Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, said in a statement on Tuesday that the SDF's role as the primary anti-IS force "has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities."

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar