Iraq’s judiciary is set to prosecute ISIS members transferred from Syria but the real headline lies in the details of the surprise decision, which security officials say was driven by deepening distrust of Syrian troops.
The US military’s Central Command said it had launched a mission to move thousands of ISIS prisoners from north-eastern Syria to Iraq, a stunning development that came after Kurdish forces rapidly lost ground in clashes with Syrian government forces.
For years, the prisoners had been guarded in several jails by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). But in recent days, Damascus has seized much of the territory once held by the Kurdish-led group. Fighting around SDF-controlled prisons holding ISIS fighters has raised security concerns, after reports some inmates had escaped during the chaos.
The US transfer operation immediately raised questions about its timing and the deal behind it. It began with the transport of 150 ISIS fighters from a detention centre in Hasakah to a “secure location” in Iraq, Cen
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