Iraq’s judiciary is set to prosecute ISIS members transferred from Syria by the US in an operation security officials say was driven by deepening distrust of the Syrian military.
The US military’s Central Command said it had launched a mission to move thousands of ISIS prisoners from north-eastern Syria to Iraq, in a stunning development that came after Kurdish forces rapidly lost ground in clashes with Syrian government forces.
For years, the prisoners had been guarded in several jails by the Syrian Democratic Forces. But in recent days, Damascus has retaken much of the territory once held by the Kurdish-led group. Fighting around SDF-controlled prisons holding ISIS fighters has raised security concerns, after reports that some inmates had escaped during the chaos.
The US transfer operation immediately raised questions about its timing and the deal behind it. It began with the transport of 150 ISIS fighters from a detention centre in Hasakah to a “secure location” in Iraq, Centcom said. It added that “up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities”.
It is believed about 10,000 ISIS members are imprisoned across Syria.
Hours after the announcement, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said it would "begin taking the proper legal measures against the defendants who are handed over and placed in the relevant correctional institutions”.
The council said “all suspects, regardless of their nationality or their position within the terrorist organisation, are subject exclusively to the authority of the Iraqi judiciary”.
It added that "legal procedures will be applied to them without exception, in a manner that safeguards the rights of the victims and upholds the principle of the rule of law in Iraq".
The sudden move to transfer ISIS members, thousands of whom are Iraqi citizens, reflects dangers associated with the background of some Syrian government troops, who previously belonged to extremist groups.
Creating chaos
The decision was heavily influenced by the killing of two US soldiers and an American interpreter in Palmyra at the hands of an ISIS sympathiser embedded in the government forces, which prompted Washington and its Syrian partners to launch a sweeping campaign against extremist cells in Syria.
A regional Arab security source specialising in Syria told The National that American distrust of the SDF and pro-government forces was behind the decision to move ISIS prisoners from eastern Syria to Iraq.
“The SDF appears to have released ISIS prisoners from one jail in Al Shaddadi to create chaos,” the source said. “At the same time, Washington was worried about the presence of ISIS sympathisers among government forces and their tribal allies."
He said President Ahmad Al Shara "knows how to handle ISIS prisoners". He had them in Idlib before he took power in December 2024. But the speed at which eastern Syria has fallen was surprising, and it became uncertain whether "disciplined and vetted government forces would end up in control of the prisons", the source added.
Had an integration deal between Mr Al Shara and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi last March come into effect, the source claimed, the US would have trained Syrian government forces to manage “an orderly transfer” of those held.
“In any case, this was not Al Shara’s war with ISIS and many of the prisoners are not Syrian,” the source added. “Washington was bound to move some ISIS detainees outside Syria, regardless of who controls power there."
Myles Caggins, former spokesman of the US-led coalition against ISIS, told The National that the "unexpected" US decision indicates a "lack of confidence in the ability of the central government to safely and humanely continue the ISIS detention mission".
"There are certainly rogue members of the Syrian Arab Army who are extremists," Mr Caggins said.
An Iraqi security official said the US-led anti-ISIS coalition approached Baghdad over the transfers after developments in north-eastern Syria.
“It is a huge and unprecedented number of prisoners and a major challenge for us,” the official said. “This is something we did not expect or plan for, so the final deal is still in the making.
“We are co-ordinating with the International Coalition on one side and the Syrian government on the other,” he told The National. “We have no other option but to bring them here under our direct supervision, rather than leave them in a fluid situation that could pose a threat to our national security."
The ISIS members will be transferred in groups, he said.
Pressuring other countries
Another Iraqi security official said the current plan is for the prisoners to be held at Nasiriyah Prison in Dhi Qar, Karkh Prison near Baghdad Airport and in smaller numbers in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region.
Iraq’s long battle against ISIS is no longer defined by sweeping military offensives but by managing a threat that refuses to disappear. The terrorist group now survives through small, mobile cells that exploit deserts, mountains and border areas between Iraq and Syria. For many Iraqis, the real danger lies in prisons and camps that have become recruitment centres, ideological incubators and reserves for future insurgency.
One of the largest such sites is Al Hol, which holds tens of thousands of prisoners, along with their families and children, which has fallen into Syrian government hands this week.
About 19,000 Iraqis have already been repatriated from camps in Syria, with fewer than 5,000 remaining, said an Iraqi official involved in the case. “Our priority is to bring back the remaining Iraqis. It is impossible for us to take detainees of other nationalities, given the lack of infrastructure, security risks and shortage of funds.”
The Iraqi government has asked relevant ministries to “increase pressure on other countries, especially EU states, to take back their citizens”, he claimed.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Parliament is expected to question the ministers of defence and interior soon to determine the current state of security on the Syrian border, and the readiness of Iraqi forces to address any deterioration or cross-border threats.
“The transfer of ISIS prisoners will also be discussed to understand their background and motivations,” a member of Parliament told The National.
Aveen Karim contributed to this report from Abu Dhabi
