US begins transferring ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq amid security transition

CENTCOM said U.S. forces transported 150 ISIS fighters who were being held at a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq, with up to 7,000 detainees potentially slated for transfer.

"We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS," said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. "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."

Barrack helped broker a fragile four-day ceasefire agreement Tuesday between the new interim Syrian government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Kurdish-led SDF, after escalating clashes threatened to spiral further.

"The deal integrates SDF fighters into the national military (as individuals, which remains among the most contentious issues), hand over key infrastructure (oil fields, dams, border crossings), and cede control of ISIS prisons and camps to Damascus," Barrack wrote on X.

The interim government and the SDF have since traded blame over responsibility for the escape, which occurred amid heightened tensions over security arrangements in the region.