Iraq to prosecute IS militants transferred from Syria

2026-01-25 - 21:06

BAGHDAD — Iraq will prosecute and try militants from the Islamic State group who are being transferred from prisons and detention camps in neighboring Syria under a U.S.-brokered deal, Iraqi authorities said Sunday. The announcement came from the country’s highest judicial body following a meeting of senior security and political officials to discuss the ongoing transfer of about 9,000 IS detainees held in Syria since the group’s defeat there in 2019. The move follows recent clashes in northeastern Syria, where government forces routed Kurdish-led fighters who had long guarded detention facilities holding IS prisoners. Those facilities include the sprawling al-Hol camp, which houses thousands of people, mostly families of IS militants. Syrian troops last week also took control of a prison in the town of Shaddadeh, from which some detainees escaped during fighting. Syrian state media later reported that many of them were recaptured. The violence raised fears that IS sleeper cells could be reactivated and that escaped detainees could pose renewed security threats, particularly along the porous Syria-Iraq border. Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said that once transferred, IS detainees accused of terrorism will be investigated by Iraqi security forces and tried in domestic courts. The U.S. military began the transfer process Friday, moving the first group of IS prisoners from Syria to Iraq. On Sunday, another 125 detainees were transferred, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. That brings the total number transferred so far to 275. Officials said the process has been slow, as detainees are being transported by air. Both Syria and the United States have welcomed Iraq’s decision to accept and prosecute the prisoners. Iraq’s parliament was expected to meet later Sunday to discuss developments in Syria, where government forces are seeking to strengthen control along the border. Although IS was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, the group continues to operate sleeper cells that carry out attacks in both countries.