The U.S. has welcomed Iraq’s plan to detain suspected Islamic State members in secure Iraqi facilities and urged countries to repatriate their nationals so they can face justice. The U.S. military moved 150 suspected militants to Iraq and said the operation could relocate up to 7,000 detainees from Syria. The U.N. is taking on management of large camps holding tens of thousands of women and children after Kurdish‑led forces withdrew, raising security and humanitarian concerns.
U.S. Urges Countries To Repatriate Nationals Held With ISIS As Iraq Detains Suspects
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on on the day of a briefing for the House of Representatives on the situation in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 7, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 — The United States has welcomed Iraq’s decision to detain suspected Islamic State members in secure Iraqi facilities and urged other countries to repatriate their nationals held alongside militants so they can face justice.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio praised Baghdad’s move after recent instability in northeast Syria and described transfers of detainees to Iraq as part of wider efforts to prevent an ISIS resurgence.
"The United States welcomes the Government of Iraq's initiative to detain ISIS terrorists in secure facilities in Iraq, following recent instability in northeast Syria," Rubio said in a statement. "Non‑Iraqi terrorists will be in Iraq temporarily; the United States urges countries to take responsibility and repatriate their citizens in these facilities to face justice."
Recent Transfers and Plans
The U.S. military announced it transferred 150 suspected militants from Syria to Iraq and said the operation could eventually move as many as 7,000 detainees out of Syria. Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said it will begin legal proceedings against Islamic State detainees who were transferred from Syria.
Humanitarian And Security Concerns
The United Nations has taken on management responsibilities for large camps in northeast Syria that house tens of thousands of women and children linked to Islamic State, following the rapid collapse and withdrawal of Kurdish‑led forces that had guarded the sites for years.
For years, more than 10,000 Islamic State members and tens of thousands of associated women and children were held across roughly a dozen prisons and camps in northeast Syria under the supervision of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF’s recent, rapid retreat after clashes with Syrian government forces has generated international concern about prison security and humanitarian conditions at the camps.
Iraq has begun accepting detainees moved from Syrian facilities and has called on other countries to take back their nationals. U.S. officials framed repatriation as essential to long‑term efforts to share responsibility among coalition partners and reduce the risk of future extremist regrouping.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)
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