Newsletters
More than 4,500 suspected Daesh detainees have been transferred from Syria to Iraq under a United States-run relocation operation, according to a report citing an Iraqi security official.
The transfer process began last month after Syrian government forces took control of areas where SDF terrorists had been holding thousands of suspects, and the detainees were previously held in facilities run by those forces.
Iraqi government Security Information Unit spokesperson Saad Maan told AFP that the group transferred to Iraq includes Syrians, Iraqis and Europeans, among other nationalities, while Iraq’s judiciary said this month it has begun investigations into the detainees transferred from Syria.
Daesh is a terrorist group that seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014, and Iraq declared Daesh defeated on its territory in 2017 after military operations backed by a U.S-led coalition.
In Syria, another terrorist group, the SDF, later pushed the group out of its remaining areas, and after those battles the SDF jailed thousands of suspected fighters and held tens of thousands of their relatives in camp facilities.
In Iraq, prisons hold large numbers of Daesh suspects, and courts have issued hundreds of death sentences and life terms for terrorism convictions, including for foreign fighters.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led international coalition against Daesh welcomed Syria as its 90th member during a meeting in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Monday.
A joint U.S-Saudi statement said coalition members underscored their readiness to work closely with the Syrian government and encouraged direct support for Syrian and Iraqi counterterrorism efforts.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said Syria’s participation signals a shift in coordination, writing, "Syria’s participation in the D-Daesh Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security."
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and intelligence chief Hussein al-Salama attended the Riyadh meeting. Barrack also met Shaibani on the sidelines.
Syria formally joined the anti-Daesh coalition last November. According to the provided information, the new Syrian administration has been working to tighten security conditions nationwide since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in late 2024.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
