The military’s Central Command said on Friday that it had completed the transfer of some 5,700 Islamic State prisoners to jails in Iraq from custody in Syria.
The military said last month that as many as 7,000 ISIS prisoners could ultimately be moved to Iraqi-run facilities. That would constitute most of the roughly 9,000 detainees held in Syria, U.S. military officials said.
The transfers are a significant shift in the U.S.-backed system for detaining Islamic State fighters since the terrorist group lost the territory it held in the region in 2019.
“We appreciate Iraq’s leadership and recognition that transferring the detainees is essential to regional security,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said in a statement.
The transfer flights were conducted under the military’s Operation Inherent Resolve, which is responsible for counterterrorism operations in the region. Iraqi officials have said the United States agreed to cover the cost of jailing the prisoners and processing their future trials.
“The successful execution of this orderly and secure transfer operation will help prevent an ISIS resurgence in Syria,” Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Lambert, the commander of the Inherent Resolve task force, said in a statement.
The decision last month by the U.S. military to transfer these prisoners reflected growing concern about the security of detention sites in northeastern Syria, which for years have been guarded by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or S.D.F.
That status quo unraveled in mid-January, as Syrian government troops launched a lightning offensive against Kurdish-led forces, forcing the S.D.F. to relinquish control over much of its territory. Under a fragile cease-fire, the S.D.F. agreed to hand over control of prisons and other infrastructure as part of a deal to integrate Kurdish-held regions into the Syrian state.
However, fresh bouts of violence erupted around prisons holding Islamic State detainees as Kurdish forces withdrew and Syrian government forces moved in. As many as 200 detainees escaped from one of those prisons, al-Shaddadi, before most were recaptured, U.S. officials said.
The Syrian government has taken control of Al Hol, a detention camp housing tens of thousands of family members of Islamic State fighters.
Despite Washington’s public support for Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the transfer appeared to highlight lingering doubts in Washington about his government’s ability to ensure security.
Mr. al-Sharaa has sought to project stability since his rebel coalition overthrew Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, more than a year ago. But the country has been rocked by sectarian violence and a steady rise in attacks by remnants of the Islamic State.
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times. He has reported on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism for more than three decades.
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