PMF head: Iraq prepares southern prisons for ISIS influx
Shafaq News– Nineveh
Iraq has prepared fortified detention facilities in the south to receive up to 7,000 ISIS detainees transferred from Syria, Popular Mobilization Forces chief Faleh Al-Fayyad revealed on Monday.
Speaking at a press briefing in Mosul, Al-Fayyad explained that the detainees will be held at the secured sites in southern Iraq designated for investigation under Iraqi law, stressing that Baghdad cannot “bear the security and financial burden” of the file alone and is coordinating with international organizations for support.
Iraq, he added, may reopen the Al-Yarubiyah border crossing in northwestern Nineveh in the coming months after it is handed over to Syria’s “recognized government,” ending years of closure since it fell outside state control during the war with ISIS.
“Baghdad deals exclusively with official authorities in managing border crossings,” he said. The crossing was previously controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), though the group withdrew from the area following clashes with Syrian government forces.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) earlier confirmed that American forces had already transferred 150 ISIS detainees from a detention facility in Syria’s Hasakah province to Iraq to prevent potential escapes, with hundreds more expected to cross daily.
Shafaq News sources said the detainees include senior ISIS and Al-Qaeda figures, some linked to attacks dating back to 2005, and include nationals from Chechnya, Afghanistan, Europe, Egypt, Sudan, and Somalia, according to a source.
