Iraq receives 21 Iranian ISIS members from Syria

2026-02-15 - 15:46

Shafaq News- Baghdad 21 Iranian nationals ISIS membership were moved from a detention facility in northern Syria to Al-Karkh Prison in Baghdad, Iranian media reported on Sunday. According to Iran’s Tabnak News Agency, the transfer was conducted with direct US mediation as part of broader arrangements concerning foreign ISIS detainees, under a plan that provides for either repatriating remaining non-Iraqis to their home countries or prosecuting them in Iraq under local law. No official details have been released regarding the identities or personal information of the 21 Iranians, and neither Iranian nor Iraqi authorities have issued clarifications about their legal status or judicial fate. Earlier this week, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the United States concluded moving more than 5,700 adult male ISIS fighters from detention facilities in northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody. On February 11, informed sources told Shafaq News that Iraq hosts around 5,000 ISIS detainees transferred from Syria in high-security facilities, noting that they have not been moved to local prisons, as judicial authorities plan to reopen case files and initiate proceedings under Iraqi law before issuing verdicts. Read more: ISIS detainee transfers test Iraq’s post-Coalition security