Image source, EPAImage caption, Syrian government security forces in front of the al-Hol camp in Hasakeh provinceByThomas Mackintosh and Rachel HaganPublished21 January 2026 The US military has begun the transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State (IS) group detainees from prisons in north-eastern Syria to Iraq, as Syria's new government takes control of areas long run autonomously by Kurdish-led forces. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had already moved 150 IS fighters from Hassakeh province to a "secure location" in Iraq. It said the move aimed to prevent prisoners breaking out and regrouping. The transfer follows a ceasefire agreement that has brought much of Syria's north east under Damascus control, after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from key areas, including detention sites holding thousands of IS suspects and their relatives. CENTCOM said its commander Admiral Brad Cooper discussed the transfers with Syria's new president Ahmed al-Sharaa, stressing the need for Syrian forces to uphold the ceasefire and avoid any action that could interfere with what he described as an "orderly and secure transfer" of detainees.
Published: January 21, 2026 5:24 pm
Source: BBC — Read original