U.S. soldiers provide security during a tour of al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria on Oct. 14, 2025. Syrian forces took control of the camp and its residents, most of whom are women and children with links to the Islamic State, on Jan. 21, 2026, the same day U.S. Central Command announced it is moving ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq. (Lena Adam/French air force)
Thousands of Islamic State group detainees will be moved from Syria to Iraq amid heightened tensions between the interim government in Damascus and Kurdish-led rebels, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday in a statement.
CENTCOM forces have so far transferred 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq, with plans to move up to 7,000 detainees, the statement said.
It is unclear where exactly the detainees will be housed. CENTCOM did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about whether responsibility for the ISIS fighters would fall to the U.S. or Iraqi forces.
The U.S. maintains about 1,000 troops in Syria, primarily as part of its anti-ISIS efforts.
“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper 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.”
The news follows two weeks of fighting between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The U.S. has worked with the SDF for more than a decade in countering ISIS in the country, including ensuring the security of sprawling detention camps in the northeast.
Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, said in a statement Tuesday that the SDF’s role as the primary anti-IS force “has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities.”
Guards in northeastern Syria stand in position with newly equipped riot gear in 2020. U.S. Central Command said Jan. 21, 2026, that it is moving Islamic State group detainees from northeastern Syria into Iraq. (Christopher Estrada/U.S. Army)
Following the ouster of longtime dictator Bashar Assad in late 2024, the U.S. helped facilitate an integration agreement between the SDF and the new government.
Negotiations on merging the groups had been stalling for months when fighting broke out near Aleppo earlier this month.
Those tensions escalated on Tuesday, when the SDF abandoned the detention camp known as al-Hol, which houses about 24,000 people, The Associated Press reported.
On Wednesday, Syrian forces took full control of the camp and its residents, most of whom are women and children with links to the Islamic State.
About 6,500 others, many of them loyal ISIS supporters, are held separately in a secure section of the camp, according to the AP.
Last year, the Pentagon announced it would reduce its footprint in Iraq to fewer than 2,000 troops.
Earlier this week, Iraqi officials confirmed that U.S. personnel had fully withdrawn from Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
@lara_korte korte.lara@stripes.com
