U.S. ISIS Detainee Transfers to Iraq Proceed as Washington Signals Shift From SDF to Syrian Government Partner
The U.S. has begun relocating ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq — moving about 150 so far and preparing to transfer potentially thousands of the roughly 9,000–10,000 detainees — even as a fragile ceasefire has allowed Syrian government forces to assume control of former SDF prisons (notably Al‑Shaddadi and al‑Aqtan) amid reports of prisoner escapes and subsequent recaptures. At the same time Washington has signaled a policy shift toward engaging Syria’s new government — envoy Tom Barrack met President Ahmad al‑Sharaa and described the SDF’s original counter‑ISIS role as “largely expired” — prompting U.S. force repositioning and bipartisan concern about protecting Kurdish partners.
📌 Key Facts
- The U.S. has launched an operation to relocate ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq — already moving about 150 detainees and planning to transfer up to 7,000 of the roughly 9,000–10,000 ISIS suspects held in Syria.
- The detainee transfers are occurring alongside a high-level agreement between Syrian President Ahmad al‑Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi that produced a ceasefire and terms for SDF withdrawal: SDF forces are to pull back from Raqqa and Deir el‑Zour, hand over border crossings, oil and gas fields and Euphrates dams, and Hassakah’s Kurdish-run civilian administration will revert to Damascus, while Kurdish agencies temporarily retain responsibility for ISIS prisons and camps pending further details.
- Handovers of facilities have been chaotic: SDF guards withdrew from Al‑Shaddadi prison and the al‑Hol camp, reports say roughly 120–200 ISIS detainees escaped during the transfer (many were later recaptured), CBS journalists found emptied cells at Al‑Shaddadi, and Syrian forces have assumed control of multiple former SDF detention centers.
- Damascus extended the initial four‑day truce by another 15 days and explicitly framed the extension as support for the U.S. operation to transfer ISIS detainees to Iraq; the SDF publicly affirmed its commitment to the extension.
- The U.S. military has heightened its regional posture amid the unrest — repositioning an F‑15 squadron, flying C‑17s with heavy equipment into the area, preparing to bring the USS Abraham Lincoln into the CENTCOM theater, and CENTCOM and its commander have publicly appealed for restraint while monitoring developments (including the al‑Hol withdrawal).
- U.S. envoy Tom Barrack publicly said the SDF’s original purpose as the primary anti‑ISIS ground force has 'largely expired' because an 'acknowledged central government' in Damascus is now 'willing and positioned' to take over; his praise of the al‑Sharaa–Abdi deal has been read as an explicit signal that Washington is shifting toward partnering with the Syrian government on counter‑ISIS operations instead of the SDF.
- The developments have prompted bipartisan U.S. concern about Kurdish protection and Syrian government conduct: Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch expressed grave concern about alleged abuses and urged accountability, while Senators Lindsey Graham and Mike Pompeo warned that abandoning Kurdish allies would be a moral and strategic disaster.
- Syrian state media reported government actions such as releasing 126 boys under 18 from an Aqtan prison and asserted control of former SDF prisons; separate reports and social‑media clips allege some Syrian army units involved are led by figures with past terrorist designations and unverified footage purportedly shows released ISIS prisoners in Tabqa.
📰 Source Timeline (10)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 24, 2026
10:45 PM
Lindsey Graham says 'strong consensus' to protect Kurds as Syrian forces advance on territory
New information:
- Sen. Lindsey Graham posted that there is a "strong and growing bipartisan interest" in the Senate and a "strong consensus" that the U.S. must protect Syrian Kurds who helped defeat the ISIS caliphate.
- Mike Pompeo responded publicly that "turning our backs on our Kurdish allies would be a moral and strategic disaster," sharpening Republican criticism of any U.S. pullback from the SDF.
- U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy Tom Barrack wrote on X that the SDF was the best ground partner when there was no 'functioning central Syrian state,' but said the situation has 'fundamentally changed' because Syria now has an 'acknowledged central government' that has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and is cooperating with the U.S. on counterterrorism.
- Barrack’s statement is being read as an explicit signal that Washington now sees Damascus as its primary counter‑ISIS partner instead of the SDF, even as Syrian government forces with 'a large jihadist element' advance on long‑held SDF territory.
10:32 PM
Syrian army announces ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days
New information:
- Syria’s defense ministry announced on Jan. 24 that the government–SDF ceasefire, initially a four‑day truce, has been extended for another 15 days.
- Damascus explicitly framed the extension as support for the U.S. operation to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq; the SDF publicly affirmed its commitment to the extension.
- Syrian state TV reported that authorities released 126 boys under 18 from the al‑Aqtan prison near Raqqa after government forces seized the facility, returning them to families while ISIS adult detainees remain; the government now controls two former SDF‑run prisons holding ISIS members.
January 23, 2026
9:46 PM
Chaos in Syria sparks fears of ISIS prison breaks as US rushes detainees to Iraq
New information:
- The U.S. military has launched an operation to relocate ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq, already moving about 150 detainees from a Hasakah facility and planning to transfer up to 7,000 of the roughly 9,000–10,000 ISIS detainees held in Syria.
- Syria’s new government under President Ahmed al‑Sharaa has ordered the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to disband after a rapid offensive that severely weakened the group, and Syrian government forces have assumed control of several detention centers the SDF previously guarded.
- Syrian authorities say at least 120 ISIS detainees escaped during a breakout at the al‑Shaddadi prison in Hasakah this week; many have reportedly been recaptured but some remain at large.
- The SDF has announced it is withdrawing from overseeing the al‑Hol camp, citing international indifference, and has redeployed guards to confront advancing Syrian government forces.
- A new four‑day ceasefire between Kurdish forces and Syrian government troops was agreed Tuesday evening, but officials describe the truce as fragile, and U.S. officials are weighing whether to withdraw the roughly 1,000 American troops still in Syria.
January 20, 2026
7:21 PM
CBS News finds empty cells at Syrian jail that held ISIS suspects
New information:
- CBS journalists entered Al‑Shaddadi prison on Jan. 19–20 and documented empty cells and discarded ISIS detainee jumpsuits, showing the facility had been cleared days after the reported escape.
- Syrian Interior Ministry accuses the SDF of allowing about 120 ISIS detainees to escape during government attempts to seize the prison, while the SDF denies this and Damascus later claims most escapees were recaptured.
- A U.S. military source confirmed to CBS that there is a U.S. combat outpost less than two miles from Al‑Shaddadi prison, used largely for intelligence and surveillance to protect U.S. forces.
- U.S. Syria envoy Thomas Barrack publicly stated that the 'original purpose' of the SDF as the primary anti‑ISIS ground force has 'largely expired' because the new Syrian government is now 'willing and positioned' to take over, and urged the SDF to integrate into a unified Syrian state with guarantees on citizenship and cultural rights.
5:39 PM
Syrian military, Kurdish-led forces announce a new truce after previous a ceasefire broke down
New information:
- Syrian government and the Kurdish-led SDF have announced a new four-day truce after a previous ceasefire broke down amid two weeks of clashes over implementing a force-merger deal.
- SDF guards have withdrawn from the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria, which currently holds about 24,000 people linked to ISIS, including around 14,500 Syrians, nearly 3,000 Iraqis, and about 6,500 foreign nationals in a high-security annex.
- Syria’s Interior Ministry accuses the SDF of allowing the release of detainees and families from al-Hol and says 120 ISIS prisoners escaped from Shaddadeh prison on Monday, with 81 recaptured; the SDF blames Damascus-aligned factions and says it redeployed forces to protect northern cities from regime threats.
- U.S. Central Command, via an unnamed official, confirms it is aware of reports about the al-Hol withdrawal and is closely monitoring the situation.
3:10 AM
ISIS fighters break free from Syrian jail amid chaotic government handover
New information:
- During Monday’s transfer of Al‑Shaddadi prison from SDF to Syrian government control in Hasakah province, local residents broke roughly 200 ISIS detainees out as SDF guards left and Syrian troops moved in.
- U.S. and regional sources say the facility had held under 1,000 detainees previously but only about 200 remained after U.S.–SDF efforts in recent months to move the most dangerous foreign ISIS fighters to more secure prisons before the ceasefire took effect.
- A senior U.S. official told Fox News that most of the escaped prisoners were quickly rounded up and returned to the prison, which is now under Syrian government control, and that the Syrian army imposed a full curfew in Shaddadi while conducting sweeps for any remaining escapees.
- In response, U.S. Central Command has increased its regional posture: repositioning a squadron of F‑15s, flying C‑17s with heavy equipment into the area, and preparing to bring the USS Abraham Lincoln into the CENTCOM theater by Jan. 25.
January 19, 2026
7:34 PM
Syrian government agrees to ceasefire with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces
New information:
- Syrian President Ahmad al‑Sharaa publicly signed an agreement with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi to cease fire and dismantle the Kurdish‑led SDF, with Abdi’s signature on the document and his video confirmation of acceptance.
- Under the deal, SDF forces are to withdraw from Raqqa and Deir el‑Zour provinces and hand over all border crossings, oil and gas fields, and Euphrates river dams to the Syrian state; Hassakah’s Kurdish‑run civilian administration will revert to Damascus while Kurdish-led agencies retain responsibility for ISIS prisons and camps, pending further details.
- U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met al‑Sharaa in Raqqa-area talks as government forces moved into Raqqa and across Deir el‑Zour, and Barrack publicly praised the pact as a 'pivotal inflection point' toward a 'unified Syria' and future integration work.
- The Syrian Defense Ministry ordered front‑line fighting halted after the agreement, and state media portrayed the deal as finally allowing the post‑Assad leadership to assert 'almost full control' over the country after its December 2024 takeover.
4:42 PM
Top GOP senator says Syria ceasefire welcome but actions must match words
New information:
- Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch told Fox News Digital that he welcomes the ceasefire and al‑Sharaa’s decree on Kurdish rights but warned Syrian government conduct must match its words and that infighting between U.S. partners only benefits ISIS and Iran.
- Fox emphasizes that President Ahmed al‑Sharaa is a former U.S.-designated terrorist with past ties to ISIS and al‑Qaeda who ordered the Syrian army’s rapid incursion into SDF‑held territory that had been under Kurdish control for more than a decade.
- Kurdistan 24 footage, widely shared on social media, reportedly shows Syrian Arab Army forces releasing ISIS prisoners in Tabqa; Fox notes it cannot independently verify the video.
- The piece quotes U.S. envoy and ambassador Tom Barrack’s X post lauding the al‑Sharaa–Mazloum Abdi deal as a 'pivotal inflection point' and calling al‑Sharaa and Abdi 'two great Syrian leaders,' underscoring the administration’s public embrace of the arrangement.
- YPG commander Sipan Hamo is quoted saying the Barrack–Kurdish meeting produced no concrete roadmap to ceasefire implementation and reiterating that Syrian Kurds do not seek secession but see their future inside Syria.
January 13, 2026
10:29 PM
Republican senator condemns alleged Syrian army abuses as ceasefire follows Aleppo fighting
New information:
- Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Jim Risch issued a statement on X saying he is 'gravely concerned' about Syrian armed forces’ conduct in Aleppo and urged the Syrian government to hold perpetrators accountable for 'egregious acts.'
- Risch’s statement was prompted by a Syrian Network report alleging a Syrian army member desecrated a woman’s body in Aleppo by throwing it from a high floor.
- CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper publicly appealed 'to all parties to exercise maximum restraint' in the Aleppo area on Tuesday, directly addressing the clashes.
- Fox details that the Syrian army units involved are controlled by President Ahmed al‑Sharaa, identified as a former U.S.-designated terrorist and ex–al‑Qaeda/ISIS member.
- The piece reiterates that Mazloum Abdi says an internationally mediated understanding has produced a ceasefire and evacuation of SDF fighters, civilians, and the dead and wounded from the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods to northeast Syria.
- U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy Tom Barrack publicly noted his meeting in Damascus with President al‑Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al‑Shaibani to discuss Aleppo developments and Syria’s 'historic transition.'
January 10, 2026