Why the fate of ISIS prisoners in Syria is back on the radar
By Nadeen Ebrahim, Eyad Kourdi, CNN
(CNN) — Questions have emerged over the fate of thousands of Islamic State prisoners in northeastern Syria after government forces seized swaths of territory long controlled by Kurdish forces who had been guarding the prisons.
The territory was held by the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), once a key United States ally in the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS.
Prisons and camps in northeast Syria hold tens of thousands of ISIS detainees and their families from dozens of countries, many of whom remain in legal limbo after their home governments refused to repatriate them.
On Monday, Syria’s Interior Ministry said that some 120 detainees escaped from a prison that used to be under SDF control. Eighty-one have been captured, the ministry said Tuesday, adding that “intensive security efforts continue to track down the rest.”
The developments have underscored a shift in Washington’s posture that has alarmed its former Kurdish partners.
The SDF accused the US-led coalition of failing to come to its aid after it was pushed out of much of the territory it once controlled. On Tuesday, it announced its withdrawal from a vast detention camp holding tens of thousands of ISIS-linked civilians, citing “international indifference.”
US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa have since spoken about the developments, with Trump praising his counterpart’s efforts to reunify the war-ravaged country following the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.
And on Wednesday, US forces launched a transfer mission to move ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to secure detention centers in Iraq.
Here’s what we know about the situation in Syria.
What’s happening in northeast Syria?
Detainees escaped from al-Shaddadi Prison on Monday as government forces wrested control of the area from the SDF, which had been the United States’ main local partner in the fight against ISIS that began in 2015. The SDF and the government accused each other of releasing the prisoners.
CNN cannot independently verify the number of detainees who were inside the prison, nor how many escaped. The SDF said Monday that al-Shaddadi prison held “thousands” of ISIS detainees.
On Tuesday, the SDF said it withdrew from al-Hol camp, which holds tens of thousands of ISIS-linked families, due to “international indifference” to ISIS and “the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter.”
Syria’s Defense Ministry said the SDF abandoned al-Hol, “effectively allowing those held inside to leave,” and that it was ready to take over the camp as well as ISIS prisons. In a separate statement, the government said it had informed the US about the situation and accused the SDF of attempting to “export a new security crisis in the area.”
In its Wednesday announcement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US forces transferred 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in Hasakah to a “secure location” in Iraq. Under the new mission, up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could ultimately be moved from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities, the US military said.
“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,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander.
The Iraqi military said the country received the “terrorists of Iraqi nationality and other nationalities who were held in prisons previously under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces.”
The Syrian Defense Ministry pledged that its forces will not enter Kurdish villages as it takes Kurdish-held territory in Syria.
Late Tuesday, the government gave the SDF a four-day ultimatum to find a way to integrate into the Syrian state. The Kurdish group has demanded that it form a unit within the Syrian military, which Damascus has rejected. The US has urged the SDF to accept Syria’s offer.
Why is this happening?
The Kurdish SDF feels abandoned by the US as Washington strengthens ties with the Sharaa government, which has pledged to reassert central control over all of Syria and opposes regional autonomy for religious or ethnic minorities.
Over the weekend, the Syrian military, aided by tribal militias, drove Kurdish forces out of large swaths of northeastern Syria that the SDF had controlled for more than a decade.
The SDF had been Washington’s partner in Syria, but the US drawdown from the country in 2019 left the Kurdish group backed into a corner, particularly after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024 and Sharaa’s rise to power. The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria had long relied on the SDF to guard ISIS prisons.
On Monday, the SDF accused the coalition of failing to intervene to halt the advance of government-allied forces, despite what it said were “repeated calls” to its base roughly two kilometers (1.2 miles) away.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Sharaa held a phone call with Trump on Monday, in which both parties stressed “the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial unity and independence.”
The two leaders also discussed Kurdish rights and combating ISIS, according to SANA.
What do we know about ISIS in Syria?
ISIS emerged from the remnants of al-Qaeda in Iraq. At the height of its power, it controlled about a third of Syria, with Raqqa as its capital. In 2017, the SDF declared the “total liberation” of Raqqa, working with US-led coalition forces to reclaim territory from ISIS.
The group was largely defeated in 2019, but some elements still operate clandestinely in Syria and Iraq. When the Assad regime fell, several Middle East states and their Western allies warned that ISIS could exploit the chaos and orchestrate a comeback.
In November, Sharaa joined the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, and his forces continue to hunt down elements of the group.
Rights groups have criticized humanitarian conditions inside prisons holding suspected ISIS members captured by the SDF. In 2019, Amnesty International said the prisons violate the rights of more than 56,000 people in custody.
“These people include Syrians, Iraqis and other foreign nationals from an estimated 74 countries,” Amnesty said. They are being held in a network of at least 27 detention facilities and two detention camps, it added.
The United Nations says al-Hol camp holds more than 30,000 people.
What is the status of the foreign prisoners in Syria?
The developments in Syria have brought renewed attention to the fate of thousands of foreign fighters and their families who remain in camps and detention facilities in northeastern Syria, reviving calls to find a solution to their status.
Some countries have repatriated a small number of their citizens, but others have refused, with some governments stripping those detained of their citizenship.
Many European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, have allowed only a limited number of children and their mothers to return.
The US, which helps fund the camps, has warned it cannot continue doing so indefinitely and urged nations to repatriate their citizens.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is following the situation in Syria “with great concern,” the UN said Tuesday, stressing the importance of securing detention facilities.
What is the US saying?
The US has endorsed Syria’s moves in the northeast, with Trump’s envoy calling on Syria’s Kurds to accept the Damascus government’s control over territory they once held.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Trump said Sharaa is “working very hard … strong guy, tough guy, pretty rough resume.”
“But you’re not going to put a choir boy in there and get the job done,” he said, adding that he spoke to his Syrian counterpart about the situation in the prisons.
Commenting on recent clashes, Trump added that he “likes the Kurds” and that he is “trying to protect” them.
Tom Barrack, the US special envoy for Syria, said Tuesday on X that the US strategy in Syria doesn’t include a long-term presence. Citing a “fundamentally changed” situation with Syria’s “westward pivot,” he called for the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian state and said the purpose of the SDF’s presence in northeastern Syria has waned.
“Historically, the US military presence in northeastern Syria was justified primarily as a counter-ISIS partnership,” he wrote. “Today, the situation has fundamentally changed. Syria now has an acknowledged central government that has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.”
The-CNN-Wire
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