An Iraqi security official told Alhurra that more than 4,800 Islamic State detainees had been transferred from Syria to Iraq as of Tuesday, while a U.S. defense official said the operation, which began last month, remains ongoing.
U.S. Central Command announced on Jan. 21 the start of the transfer of about 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq “to help ensure the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities.”
Sabah al-Numan, military spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister, said the number “has reached more than 4,800 detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq in coordination between the Iraqi government and the international coalition forces.”
Al-Numan told Alhurra the detainees were placed in prisons operated by Iraq’s Justice Ministry, with Iraqi courts have opened investigations and initiated legal processes related to terrorism charges.
“The transfers are being carried out by land and by air using coalition aircraft. The process is proceeding smoothly, and there are no obstacles or impediments so far,” al-Numan said.
His comments came after media reports last week cited difficulties facing the transfer process. Al-Numan denied those reports, saying “there is no specific timetable for completing the transfers” and that “the process is proceeding regularly and in varying numbers,” sometimes affected by weather conditions.
In earlier remarks to Alhurra, Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said the United States expected the transfer of ISIS detainees to take days, not weeks.
However, more than three weeks later, only about two-thirds of the detainees have been transferred.
CENTCOM did not respond to Alhurra’s emailed inquiries regarding the progress of the transfers or whether a timetable had been set.
A U.S. defense official said Wednesday that “the transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq is ongoing,” declining to provide further details.
Al-Numan said there is “serious intent to close this file as quickly as possible, because the situation in Syria is unstable and there is weak control over prisons holding dangerous terrorists classified as first-level.”
The Iraqi government has said it agreed to receive ISIS detainees from Syria for reasons related to national security, after dozens of detainees briefly escaped from one Syrian prison.
Several countries, including the United States, welcomed the Iraqi step. Washington has called on countries worldwide to “take responsibility and repatriate their detained citizens to face prosecution in their home countries.”
Iraqi authorities say they have already begun investigative procedures with the detainees in preparation for trial, while sending appeals to about 60 countries to repatriate their nationals affiliated with ISIS.
“There are ready investigative files for these detainees, who will be tried before Iraqi courts for crimes committed against Iraqis,” al-Numan said.
“The procedures apply to Iraqis and foreigners. Anyone whose hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis will be tried,” he added.
According to al-Numan, “the investigation and trial procedures may take time, after which the detainees will remain in Iraqi prisons until approvals are received from their home countries to take them back.”
The Iraqi government has repeatedly called on the concerned countries to assume their responsibilities and agree to receive the detainees so they can be tried and, if convicted, serve their sentences in their home countries.
Al-Numan also said there is “a call to withdraw the families of these terrorists, who remain in camps inside Syrian territory, in order to return them to their countries of origin.”
“So far, the response has been weak, but we hope the international community will take a serious stand to close this file because it constitutes a ticking time bomb,” he said.
The number of ISIS detainees held in prisons run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces is estimated at about 7,000, most of them Iraqis and Syrians, in addition to hundreds of foreign nationals from Arab, European and Asian countries.
The transfers come after the rapid collapse last month of Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria raised concerns about prison security, following the escape of about 200 ISIS fighters before Syrian government forces managed to recapture many of them.
The escapes coincided with clashes between Syrian government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces. Damascus accused the SDF of releasing ISIS detainees from a prison in the countryside of Hasakah, while Kurds said they had lost control of the prison after it came under attack from government forces.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Ghassan Taqi
A journalist specializing in Iraqi affairs, he has worked with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) since 2015. He previously spent several years with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as various Iraqi and Arab media outlets.
