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U.S. Begins Transfers of ISIS Detainees to Iraq as Damascus Seizes Detention Sites

Baghdad moves to prosecute the first 150 transferees, prompting scrutiny over humanitarian access, reported escapes, due process.

Overview

  • Washington says 150 detainees were moved from Hassaké to Iraq with plans to transfer up to 7,000, and Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced it will apply standard judicial procedures.
  • UNHCR reports it has been unable to enter the al-Hol camp since Kurdish forces withdrew and the Syrian army deployed, though agencies delivered water and sought to restart bread distribution.
  • Accounts from aid workers and media describe detainee breakouts during a security vacuum, with at least about a hundred fleeing a northeastern prison and many later recaptured, while totals remain unclear.
  • Security sources say the first group transferred includes senior ISIS figures and foreign nationals, including Europeans, now held in Baghdad pending legal proceedings.
  • U.S. officials cite fears of security breaches at facilities now under Syrian control; Admiral Brad Cooper urged non-interference in transfer operations, and envoy Tom Barrack met Mazloum Abdi in Erbil about Kurdish integration terms.