Shafaq News– Rome
Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on Thursday endorsed the transfer of ISIS-linked detainees from Syria to Iraq, arguing that detention inside Iraq is safer than the risk of releases across the border.
During a visit to the Iraqi Embassy in Italy, Barzani told journalists that the number of detainees to be transferred has not yet been finalized, adding that holding them in Iraqi facilities poses fewer security risks to both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole. He confirmed that Baghdad and Washington concluded the transfer arrangement a day earlier.
Security concerns have intensified following clashes between Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and government troops in northeastern Syria near detention sites holding members of ISIS and their families. US Central Command (CENTCOM) initiated a “safe and systematic” transfer of about 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syria to “secure” facilities in Iraq, coordinated with Iraqi authorities.