The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on Wednesday that it has started moving ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria as part of a broader endeavor to prevent the terror group’s resurgence and maintain long-term security in the region.
CENTCOM said that U.S. forces transported 150 ISIS fighters who were being held at a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq, and up to 7,000 detainees are potentially scheduled for transfer.
“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we truly appreciate their role in ensuring the lasting defeat of ISIS,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is crucial to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security.”
The announcement came one day after Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, said to assume security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps.
The State Department said in a to Congress that approximately 8,400 ISIS-affiliated detainees from more than 70 countries are being held in detention facilities run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the largest of which is the al-Hol camp.
Barrack helped broker a fragile four-day ceasefire agreement on Tuesday between the new interim Syrian government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Kurdish-led SDF, after escalating clashes threatened to worsen further.
The U.S. official said the does not seek a long-term military presence in Syria, emphasizing the need instead for a continued focus on defeating remaining ISIS elements.
“The deal integrates SDF fighters into the national military (as individuals, which remains among the most contentious issues), hand over key infrastructure (oil fields, dams, border crossings), and cede control of ISIS prisons and camps to Damascus,” Barrack wrote on X.
“This creates a unique opportunity for the Kurds: integration into the new offers full citizenship rights (including for those previously stateless), recognition as an integral part of Syria, constitutional protections for Kurdish language and culture (e.g., teaching in Kurdish, celebrating Nawruz as a national holiday), and participation in governance—far beyond the semi-autonomy the SDF held amid civil war chaos,” he added.
Syria’s Ministry of Interior said on Monday that security forces had recaptured 81 of the 120 from the al-Shaddadi prison in the Hasakah countryside and were continuing efforts to track down the remaining escapees.
The interim government and the SDF have since exchanged blame over responsibility for the escape, which occurred amid heightened tensions over security arrangements in the region.