U.S. military completes transfer of 5,700 IS detainees from Syria to Iraq


The U.S. military has completed the transfer of thousands of Islamic State group detainees from Syria to Iraq, where they are expected to stand trial in the future, the U.S. Central Command said Friday.

CENTCOM said that the transfer that began on Jan. 21 saw U.S. forces transporting more than 5,700 adult male IS suspects from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody. The prisoners were transferred to Iraq at the request of Baghdad — a move welcomed by the U.S.-led coalition that had for years fought against IS.

Read more…
Source: AP News


Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Syria: SDF commander killed in IED attack in Deir ez-Zor

    December 6, 2023

    The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday confirmed that prominent SDF commander Roni Welat (Shervan Hassan) was killed in a ‘terrorist attack’ in Deir ez-Zor on Tuesday. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also confirmed the commander’s death, reporting that he was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) at the entrance of Al-Omar ...

  • Iraq: Kurdish demining agency destroys 550+ mines in Penjwen

    December 5, 2023

    The Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) announced on Tuesday that they had destroyed more than 564 mines in the Penjwen district of Sulaimani province. Jabar Mustafa Rasul, the director of the agency, revealed in a press conference that Penjwen district in the Kurdistan Region is considered to be one of the most contaminated areas with ...

  • Iraq: Rocket launcher disguised as fuel truck seen firing 122mm artillery rockets

    December 5, 2023

    Earlier this week, Iranian-backed militants in Iraq fired 122mm artillery rockets at U.S.-led coalition forces in neighboring Syria using an improvised array of launchers disguised inside a modified tanker truck. “At approximately 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 3, 15 122mm rockets originating in Iraq were fired at the U.S. base Rumalyn Landing Zone in Syria,” according to ...

  • Yemen: Oil pipeline in Shabwa sabotaged by unidentified gunmen

    December 4, 2023

    A group of unidentified gunmen carried out an attack and sabotaged a crude oil pipeline in southern Yemen’s oil-rich province of Shabwa, a government official said on Monday. The gunmen used explosives to bomb the main crude pipeline near the Jannah Hunt oil field on Sunday night, which has caused significant damage and resulted in a ...

  • Israel raises threat level against travel to 80 countries due to Gaza war

    December 4, 2023

    The threat level has been raised in 80 countries for Israelis as a result of the Gaza war, according to a new list published by the National Security Council. “Since the beginning of the war, we have identified increased efforts by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and Global Jihad factions, to harm Israeli and Jewish ...

  • UK launches surveillance flights to find Hamas hostages

    December 3, 2023

    The UK will carry out unarmed surveillance flights over the Middle East to search for Hamas hostage locations, the Ministry of Defence says. The flights will help gather intelligence on potential hostage whereabouts. Five British nationals are missing and the UK government has not said how many could be held by Hamas. “The safety of British ...

  • Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted two Israeli ships in Red Sea

    December 3, 2023

    Yemen’s Houthi movement says it has targeted two Israeli ships with an armed drone and a naval missile, reports a spokesperson for the group’s military. The spokesperson said the two ships, Unity Explorer and Number Nine, were targeted after they rejected warnings from the group’s navy, the Reuters news agency reported on Sunday. Read more… Source: Al-Jazeera News  

  • Killer Gulf War mines cast a deadly legacy in Kuwait

    November 28, 2023

    Decades after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990-1991, the specter of landmines continues to haunt the Gulf emirate, claiming lives and causing injuries, even among those born after the end of the Gulf War. The situation is particularly dire for migrant workers, including shepherds, who face the dangers of unexploded ordnance in the country’s deserts. Read more… Source: ...

  • Belgium helps UNMAS continue supporting operations in Iraq

    November 27, 2023

    The Belgian government once again contributed about $802,000 to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq in support of essential mine action operations. Delivering effective and sustainable explosive hazard management assistance as well as offering technical and advisory support to the national mine response authorities are among the activities that will take place, according ...

  • U.S. Navy Detains 5 After Failed Attempt to Capture Merchant Ship, IKE in Persian Gulf

    November 26, 2023

    Five people suspected of attempting to hijack a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden are in U.S. Navy custody, a defense official confirmed to USNI News on Sunday. The five had boarded and attempted to take control of the M/V Central Park, a tanker owned by an Israeli businessman, on Sunday while the ship was ...

  • Israeli-owned ship hit in suspected Iran drone attack

    November 25, 2023

    An Israeli-owned cargo ship was damaged in a suspected drone attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, a US defence official said on Saturday. “We are aware of reports that there was a suspected IRGC-initiated Shahed-136 UAV (that) struck a civilian motor vessel in the Indian Ocean,” the official said, confirming the ...

  • Israel: Second wave of hostage releases set for Saturday

    November 25, 2023

    Hamas will release another 13 Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the ongoing temporary ceasefire deal. Egypt has received the list from Hamas of the 13 hostages to be released, security sources said. Israeli authorities say in exchange 42 Palestinian prisoners will be released the same day under the deal. Read more… Source: The Jerusalem Post  

  • US intercepts explosive-laden drones launched from Yemen

    November 23, 2023

    The Pentagon announced this morning that a US destroyer intercepted several explosive-laden drones launched from Yemen from areas controlled by the Houthis. The US Central Military Command, Centcom, said in a post on X: “On the morning (Yemen time) of November 23, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from ...

  • Syria: 15 injured in bomb attack in Afrin

    November 19, 2023

    Fifteen victims were injured Saturday in a bombing terrorist attack in the Afrin district in northern Syria, sources said. The bomb in the cargo bed of a freight truck in the town center of Afrin, which is under the control of the opposition in northern Syria, was detonated while the vehicle was traveling on the Azez ...

  • Yemen’s Houthis have launched strikes at Israel during the war in Gaza. What threat do they pose?

    November 15, 2023

    For years, the Houthi rebels controlling northern Yemen have chanted slogans at their mass rallies calling for the destruction of Israel. But they never acted on it until the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. Since then, the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim force has launched at least six drone and missile attacks toward southern Israel, causing little ...