Iraq Confirms Receipt of 450 ISIS Detainees from Syria
Iraqi officials have confirmed that Baghdad has taken custody of 450 detained members of the ISIS group from Syria; among them, according to Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, are some of the group’s leadership figures.
Hashem al-Alawi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iraq, told the country’s official news agency that the number of transferred detainees is “limited” compared to about seven thousand ISIS prisoners held in Syria, and the majority of these detainees remain in Syrian prisons. He added that these individuals have various nationalities, with more than 40 different countries represented among them.
According to al-Alawi, some of the prisoners transferred to Iraq are Iraqi citizens, and Baghdad has previously sought to expedite their transfer process. He emphasized that those who have committed crimes will be referred to court, while individuals without charges will be sent to rehabilitation centers and their cases will be reviewed.
The Iraqi official stated that Baghdad’s official stance is that it does not have the capacity to try all foreign nationals and that their countries of origin must take responsibility for their citizens. He noted that over the past years, Iraq has officially requested these countries to take back their nationals, but many governments have not responded positively.
Al-Alawi explained that Iraq’s judiciary follows a clear legal principle whereby any individual—whether Iraqi or foreign—who commits a crime on Iraqi soil will be tried in Iraqi courts; otherwise, the case should be handled in their home country.
Previously, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on January 21 the start of an operation to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq, stating that 150 people had been moved from a detention center in Hasakah province into Iraq. These developments came following a change of control of the al-Hol camp and clashes in northeastern Syria.
Iraq declared victory over ISIS and the recapture of occupied areas in December 2017; however, scattered ISIS cells remain active in parts of the north, west, and east of the country and occasionally carry out attacks—an ongoing security concern.
