US troops have transferred 150 Islamic State (IS) prisoners from Syria to Iraq under plans that could see 7,000 detainees moved across the border.
The new Syrian government under President Ahmed al Sharaa has been trying to reassert its control over the whole country, leading to clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia which held the nation’s northeast.
But the withdrawal of SDF troops has sparked uncertainty over the security of roughly a dozen prisons and detention camps they were guarding, with IS prisoners among those detained.
American officials said on Tuesday that roughly 200 low-level IS fighters escaped Syria’s Shaddadi prison, but government forces had recaptured many of them.
More than 10,000 IS members are being held in Syrian prisons, along with thousands more women and children with ties to the group.
Now US forces have moved 150 prisoners held at a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq, the US military said in a statement.
Up to 7,000 IS detainees could ultimately be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities, the statement added.
The head of US forces in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, said the scheme had been worked out in agreement with the Iraqi government.
“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” he said.
Later on Monday, US Central Command said Mr Cooper had spoken with the Syrian president.
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In the call, he told Mr Sharaa of his “expectations for Syrian forces as well as all other forces to avoid any actions that could interfere”.
On Tuesday, the Syrian government announced a ceasefire with the SDF after seizing swathes of its territory in the northeast.
It gave the SDF four days to agree to integrate into the Syrian state – a deal which the US urged it to accept.
The SDF long enjoyed the backing of the US as a bulwark against IS forces in Syria, but that support appears to have fallen away with the rise of a new Syrian government.
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US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said in a statement on Tuesday the SDF’s role leading the charge against ISIS “has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities”.
He added: “Recent developments show the US actively facilitating this transition, rather than prolonging a separate SDF role.”
The new Syrian government was formed after the dictatorial regime of Bashar al Assad was ousted by rebels 13 months ago.
