U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a mission to transfer ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq, ensuring that they remain in secure facilities. According to CENTCOM, U.S. forces transferred 150 ISIS fighters held at a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq. Up to 7,000 ISIS detainees may be transferred.
“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security.”
The announcement follows U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack declaring that Damascus will assume security responsibilities.
“Syria now has an acknowledged central government that has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (as its 90th member in late 2025), signaling a westward pivot and cooperation with the US on counterterrorism,” Barrack wrote on X. “This shifts the rationale for the US-SDF partnership: the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps.”
“The US has no interest in long-term military presence; it prioritizes defeating ISIS remnants, supporting reconciliation, and advancing national unity without endorsing separatism or federalism,” he added.
A 2025 State Department report detailed that “there are approximately 8,400 ISIS-affiliated detainees from over 70 countries of origin (COOs) detained in [Syrian Democratic Forces]-run detention facilities.”
