National Security Advisory: IS Detainees Transferred from Syria Will Not Remain Permanently

Reuters

Transfer of IS detainees from Syria to Iraq

Iraq's National Security Advisory announced the successful transfer of Islamic State (IS) members from Syria to Iraq, confirming that the process was completed without errors and that the detainees will not remain permanently in the country but will be returned to their countries of origin.

Saeed al-Jiyashi, Advisor for Strategic Affairs at the National Security Advisory, told the Iraq's state media (INA) that the transfer of IS prisoners was a national security necessity. He explained that exceptional circumstances in Syria — including security instability in detention facilities and prison breaches — made it essential to transfer the detainees to Iraq and place them in secure facilities.

Al-Jiyashi stated that Iraq implemented all necessary security measures, with the participation of all security agencies and under the supervision of the Supreme Judicial Council and that the operation was overseen by the Counter-Terrorism Service and was carried out successfully without any incidents.

He noted that the National Security Advisory had, for five years, warned about the risks posed by prisons in Syria to Iraqi security. He stressed that keeping IS prisoners under Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi judiciary is preferable to leaving them in unstable and uncontrolled environments that could lead to future security threats.

Al-Jiyashi clarified that the detainees’ presence in Iraq is temporary and that the government is working on returning them to their home countries and that those transferred to Iraq reportedly originate from more than 67 countries.

Regarding the Al-Hawl camp in northeastern Syria, the National Security Advisory confirmed that the file has been effectively resolved, with only one remaining group to be transferred in the coming days. Al-Jiyashi said Iraq had transferred 32 groups from the camp, including more than 5,600 families — approximately 22,000 individuals — under legal, security, and humanitarian procedures.

He added that four international, national, and governmental technical teams are overseeing the process. He stated that these include teams led by the Supreme Judicial Council, the Ministry of Migration, and the Ministry of Labour, as well as specialised teams focusing on childhood issues, legal affairs, rehabilitation, and integration.

Al-Jiyashi described Iraq’s handling of the Al-Hawl camp file as a successful and internationally recognised model.

U.S. Central Command announced last Friday the completion of the 23-day operation to transfer IS members from Syria to Iraq. The operation, which began on 21 January, resulted in the transfer of more than 5,700 ISIS detainees from Syrian detention facilities to Iraqi authorities.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the total number of IS detainees, which were transferred to Iraq following an agreement with the U.S., stands at 5,703 from 61 countries, of whom, 4,253 are Arabs and 983 are non-Arab foreign nationals, including 467 are Iraqi citizens, while 3,543 are Syrians.

The ministry also said that the detainees are from Morocco (187), Turkmenistan (165), Türkiye (181), Tunisia (234), Russia (130) and Egypt (116).



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