Europeans among top ISIS leaders in first detainee transfer to Iraq
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s first batch of ISIS detainees transferred from Syria includes senior commanders holding European citizenship, alongside Asian, Arab, and Iraqi nationals, two security officials told Agence France-Presse on Friday.
They said the group comprises 85 Iraqis and 65 foreign nationals, including Europeans, Sudanese, Somalis, and individuals from the Caucasus. All were involved in ISIS operations inside Iraq and held ranks equivalent to emirs within the group.
The transfer is part of a US-led operation confirmed this week by United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which said 150 ISIS detainees were moved from northeastern Syria to Iraq. Washington said the effort could eventually involve relocating up to 7,000 detainees to facilities under Iraqi control.
European officials have voiced concern over the security of detention sites in Syria. The European Union said reports of foreign ISIS fighters escaping during recent unrest were a source of “grave concern.” EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said Brussels is monitoring both prison security and the transfer of remaining detainees to Iraq.
Security conditions in northeastern Syria have worsened in recent days. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began evacuating Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqqa countryside ahead of a handover to Damascus after a government-imposed siege. Earlier this week, SDF forces said they temporarily lost control of Al-Shaddadi prison in Hasakah following repeated attacks by government-aligned factions. A US official told Reuters that about 200 low-ranking ISIS detainees escaped during the unrest, though Syrian forces later recaptured a significant number.
These developments follow a January 18 political agreement between Syria’s transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa and the SDF, under which Syrian state institutions are set to assume administrative control over Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa —areas hosting key ISIS camps and detention facilities.
