The US transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq might end by this Thursday, Iraqi Justice Minister Khaled Shwani told Rudaw Media Network, a news channel in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
This is an important accomplishment. About 7,000 ISIS detainees were expected to be moved from Syria to Iraq within two weeks in a mission that US Central Command undertook in January.
The move was due to changes on the ground in Syria. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces gave up control of most of eastern Syria, including about 30 ISIS detention facilities, to the Syrian government in January.
The transfer is ongoing. To keep the detainees secure, the US decided to move them to Iraq, with Baghdad’s agreement. Iraq said it would investigate the detainees, prosecute the criminals, and try to repatriate the others.
Why ISIS detainees in Syria were left in limbo
“While Shwani did not identify the prisoners or figures, Iraqi Joint Operations Command data obtained by Rudaw showed that nearly 5,000 were transferred to Iraq as of Wednesday,” Rudaw reported. “Shwani said they include ‘extremely dangerous’ senior ISIS leaders.”
“The detainees include 165 Turks, far lower than the 2,500 that was reported, he said. Shwani said Baghdad is ‘in constant contact’ with Ankara, which has ‘initially expressed their willingness to repatriate their citizens,’” the report said.
“All those scheduled to be transferred have been moved, with the final group expected to be completed today and tomorrow,” Shwani said. “They have all been placed in a prison in Baghdad. None will be transferred to the Kurdistan Region – either to Chamchamal or Susa – because they are considered terrorists, and the Susa and Chamchamal prisons are designated for criminal and civilian prisoners.
“These detainees come from more than 60 countries, the majority of whom are Syrian, in addition to other country nationals. As mentioned, this brings the total to 60. The international coalition forces [the Global Coalition against ISIS] are paying for their transfer and detention.”
Shwani said his ministry has a special team to deal with the detainees.
“A technical team has also been created to investigate them, headed by the Interior Ministry’s Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency,” he said, adding that the ministry would now work to build case files.
Many ISIS crimes took place in Iraq, including the genocide of the Yazidi minority. ISIS also massacred cadets at Camp Speicher in June 2014.
Shwani said there are 165 Turkish citizens among the 6,000-7,000 ISIS members.
“We are in constant contact with the Turkish side and are holding talks with them,” he said. “They have initially expressed their willingness to repatriate their citizens – with procedures completed after the investigations are finished, of course. The extradition process is contingent on these individuals not having committed crimes within Iraq or targeting Iraqis. If no such charges exist, then yes, they will be extradited – not only to Turkey, but to all countries they belong to.”
It was not clear why the ISIS members were not repatriated earlier. One reason is that the SDF is not a state, and many countries do not deal directly with the SDF. This left the ISIS detainees in limbo in Syria.
There were about 7,000 men and some 30,000 or more women and children in Syria. Most of them had surrendered in 2019 when the SDF, backed by the US-led coalition against ISIS, defeated the terrorist group near the Euphrates River.