RAQA/ERBIL: Europeans were among 150 Islamic State (IS) detainees this week transferred by the US military from Kurdish custody in Syria to Iraq, where Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani urged European countries to repatriate their nationals.
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The detainees were part of an estimated 7,000 IS members slated for transfer as Kurdish-led forces relinquish territory to the advancing Syrian army. The US said its alliance with the Kurds had largely expired following Syria’s renewed territorial offensives, prompting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to withdraw from areas in the north and east.
🇸🇾 🇮🇶 Europeans were among 150 senior Islamic State group detainees transferred this week by the US military from Kurdish custody in Syria to Iraq, whose premier urged EU countries to repatriate their nationals.
➡️ https://t.co/h5EgyvKZCd pic.twitter.com/YMulhXIHb2— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 23, 2026
According to Iraqi security officials, the 150 transferred detainees included “all leaders of IS, and some of the most notorious criminals,” comprising Europeans, Arabs, Asians, and Iraqis. One official noted the group included 85 Iraqis and 65 foreign nationals from Europe, Sudan, Somalia, and the Caucasus, many of whom participated in IS operations in Iraq, including the 2014 offensive when the group seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
The European Union said that reports of breakouts among foreign IS fighters in Syria were of “paramount concern” and confirmed it was monitoring prisoner transfers to Iraq. The EU urged member states to take responsibility for their nationals to prevent future security risks.
IS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and seizing territory rapidly, but the SDF, backed by a US-led coalition, largely defeated the group in Syria five years later. The ongoing transfers mark a significant shift as Kurdish forces reduce their role in holding detained IS members.
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The Iraqi government has called on countries to expedite repatriation of foreign detainees, warning that failing to do so could heighten regional and global security threats.