Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said on Thursday it would begin legal proceedings against Islamic State (ISIS) detainees transferred from Syria, after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria triggered concerns over ISIS security.
More than 10,000 members of the ultra-hardline terror group have been held for years in about a dozen prisons and detention camps guarded by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria's northeast.
The US military said on Tuesday its forces had transferred 150 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq and that the operation could eventually see up to 7,000 detainees moved out of Syria.
It cited concerns over security at the prisons, which also hold thousands more women and children with ties to the terror group, after military setbacks suffered by the SDF.
A US official told Reuters on Tuesday that about 200 low-level ISIS terrorists escaped from Syria's Shaddadi prison, although Syrian government forces had recaptured many of them.
ISIS terrorists to be transferred to Iraq
Iraqi officials said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani mentioned the transfer of ISIS prisoners to Iraq in a phone call with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday, adding that the transfers went ahead following a formal request by the Iraqi government to Syrian authorities.
Iraqi government spokesperson Basim al-Awadi said the transfer was "a pre‑emptive step to protect Iraq’s national security," adding that Baghdad could not delay action given the rapid pace of security and political developments in Syria.
The Sunni group emerged in Iraq and Syria, and at the height of its power from 2014-2017 held swathes of the two countries, ruling over millions of people. Its "caliphate" eventually collapsed after a military campaign by a US-led coalition.
An Iraqi military spokesperson confirmed that Iraq had received a first batch of 150 ISIS detainees, including Iraqis and foreigners, and said the number of future transfers would depend on security and field assessments. The spokesperson described the detainees as senior figures within the group.
In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council said Iraqi courts would take "due legal measures" against the detainees once they are handed over and placed in specialized correctional facilities, citing the Iraqi constitution and criminal laws.
Relatives of some detainees worried about their fate
"All suspects, regardless of their nationalities or positions within the terrorist organization, are subject exclusively to the authority of the Iraqi judiciary," the statement said.
Iraqi officials say under the legal measures, ISIS detainees will be separated, with senior figures, including foreign nationals, to be held at a high‑security detention facility near Baghdad airport that was previously used by US forces.
The transfers have raised concerns among some relatives of ISIS detainees in Europe. A European woman whose relative joined the group and was detained in Syria said her family was alarmed by reports that ISIS prisoners were being moved to Iraq.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said the family initially hoped changes in control in Syria might bring information on her relative’s fate.
"At least we thought we might finally learn where he is, whether he is alive or sick," she said.
"But when we saw that the prisoners were being taken to Iraq, that frightened us," she added, citing Iraq’s use of the death penalty.
Two Iraqi legal sources said the ISIS detainees sent from Syria include a mix of nationalities, with IraqISIS making up the largest group, alongside Arab fighters from other countries, as well as European and other Western nationals.
The sources said the detainees include nationals of Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and Sweden, and other European Union countries, and will be prosecuted under Iraqi jurisdiction.