US moves 6,000 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq to stop mass breakout

Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Washington

Nearly 6,000 ISIS detainees were transferred from northern Syria to Iraq in a coordinated operation to prevent a potential mass prison break, Fox News reported on Wednesday.

Citing a US official, Fox said Washington feared escalating clashes in northern Syria could overwhelm the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) guarding the facilities, risking an “instant reconstitution of ISIS.”

The detainees were moved over several weeks through a US-supported airlift and are now held under Iraqi authority at a high-security site near Baghdad International Airport. Iraqi officials reportedly feared a breakout could recreate a “2014 ISIS on our border” scenario.

FBI teams are conducting biometric enrollment, while Washington is urging countries to repatriate their nationals. Fox also cited concerns over Al-Hol camp, which houses ISIS-linked families and remains a separate security challenge.

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