70% of ISIS elements transferred from Syria to Iraq
Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism - Iraqi news sources reported the transfer of 70 percent of ISIS elements from Syria to Iraq and announced that so far 5,064 of these individuals have entered the country's prisons and detention centers.
According to the Defa Press, citing Al-Sumaria News, more than 70 percent of ISIS terrorists who are to be transferred from Syrian prisons to Iraq have already been transferred, and according to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, they will be held in a single prison and all will be tried according to the country’s laws.
A total of 7,000 ISIS fighters are scheduled to be transferred from Syria to Iraq. Of these, 3,245 are Syrians and only 271 are Iraqis.
Previously, the number of Iraqi ISIS elements in Syrian prisons was reported to be around 2,000. It is estimated that there are around 9,000 ISIS prisoners in Syria, of which 7,000 are scheduled to be transferred to Iraq.
But the question arises as to why Syrian ISIS prisoners in this country should be transferred to Iraq, when the Syrian government should accept responsibility for their care. It is noteworthy that a number of Iraqi ISIS prisoners will remain in Syria.
According to Al-Sumaria News, the closest explanation for the reasons for the transfer of Syrian ISIS fighters to Iraq and their failure to remain on Syrian soil is “Iraq and the (so-called) international coalition’s distrust of continuing to hold them on Syrian soil,” because some of these imprisoned ISIS fighters may have supporters or relatives within the Syrian army, and there is a possibility of collusion or facilitating their escape.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had previously said that the decision to transfer ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq was an independent decision based on national, regional and international security considerations. He added: This measure was taken with the aim of preventing security threats and better managing the case of terrorist elements. The Iraqi Prime Minister further called on the relevant countries to provide the necessary cooperation in this regard and to hand over their citizens who are being held in Iraqi prisons on charges of membership in ISIS.
These developments occurred after the withdrawal of the so-called “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) from the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria and the country’s army took control of the camp and its surrounding areas.
Previously, ISIS prisoners were held in centers managed by the SDF, but after clashes between the SDF and the Syrian army, the administration of these centers was handed over to the Damascus government, and then, with the coordination of the United States, Syria, and Iraq, a decision was made to transfer some of the prisoners to Iraq.
