Al-Maliki’s Bloc rejects government move to transfer ISIS detainees
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s State of Law Coalition, led by premiership frontrunner Nouri al-Maliki, rejected on Sunday the government’s approval to transfer ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq.
Speaking to Shafaq News, lawmaker and SLC member Mona al-Gharabi confirmed that the Coalition registered its objection during today’s parliamentary session, which addressed security and border protection with Syria. Defense officials attended the session, while the Interior Minister was absent.
The first batch of 150 ISIS detainees —nine of them Iraqi nationals— recently transferred from Syria will be held in Iraqi prisons under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice and will face proceedings under both Iraqi and international law, she added.
The transfer follows recent clashes in northeastern Syria near detention facilities housing ISIS members and their families, reviving concerns over the security and fate of those held there. Earlier, US Central Command said that around 7,000 ISIS detainees would be moved from Syria to “secure” facilities in Iraq, adding that the operation was coordinated with Iraqi authorities —a move Baghdad later confirmed.
A source told Shafaq News that the Iraqi government also plans to engage with other countries to repatriate their nationals among the 7,000 detainees.
Although ISIS lost territorial control in Iraq in 2017, the group continues to operate as an insurgent network, active in desert and rural areas as well as provinces including Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command reported that security forces carried out dozens of operations and airstrikes in 2025, eliminating more than 90 ISIS militants and targeting senior leaders.
