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| Iraq |
| Iraq rejects Syria’s request for 4,000 IS detainees |
| 2026-10-10 |
| QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Iraq has rejected Syria’s request to repatriate around 4,000 Syrian detainees suspected of links to the Islamic State (ISIS), who were transferred from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody earlier this year, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi told The Associated Press. Al-Aboudi said a recent meeting involving Iraqi, Syrian and U.S. officials addressed the fate of the detainees. Damascus requested that the Syrian nationals be handed over for trial in Syria, but Baghdad declined. Iraq has returned around 50 Syrian detainees after determining that they were not members of ISIS, al-Aboudi told AP. Iraqi authorities have also identified approximately 400 Syrian detainees who were not affiliated with the group and could be released. Hundreds of the Syrians still held in Iraq are believed to be senior members of IS, according to al-Aboudi. “Iraq is conducting investigations, and anyone proved to have committed crimes in Iraq will be tried under Iraqi law,” he said. Al-Aboudi added that detainees from countries that do not impose the death penalty would not face capital punishment in Iraq. Those convicted could potentially be transferred to their home countries to serve the remainder of their sentences if prisoner-transfer agreements with Iraq are in place. He also said Baghdad had requested $500 million from the United States and other members of the international coalition against ISIS to help cover detention and prison-security costs. The coalition had expressed its willingness to provide support, but Iraq had not yet received the funding, he said. More at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |