In a significant move, the US military has launched an operation to transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State (IS) fighters from prisons in northeastern Syria to secure locations in Iraq. This decision comes as Syrian government forces have taken control of areas previously held by Kurdish-led forces.
The US Central Command has already relocated 150 IS prisoners from Hasakeh province to a secure facility in Iraq. This action aims to prevent a potential breakout that could “pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security,” according to the military.
The relocation of prisoners coincides with a new ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF has withdrawn from the al-Hol camp, which holds thousands of relatives of IS fighters.
Separately, the Syrian government has reported that seven of its soldiers were killed in a drone attack by Kurdish forces in the predominantly Kurdish province of Hasakah. Both the government and the SDF have previously blamed each other for the escape of suspected IS fighters from an SDF-run prison in Shaddadi, southern Hasakah.
The Syrian Interior Ministry has stated that its special forces and army soldiers have entered the town of Shaddadi following the escape of around 120 “terrorist” prisoners. The security forces have since arrested 81 of the fugitives.
The SDF has acknowledged the loss of control over the Shaddadi prison, claiming that “Damascus-affiliated factions” launched a series of attacks and killed dozens of its fighters, who were attempting to “prevent a serious security catastrophe.” The SDF spokesperson, Farhad Shami, has reported that around 1,500 IS members escaped during the clashes.
The SDF has also accused government forces of attacking the al-Aqtan prison, north of the city of Raqqa, which is holding IS members and leaders.
Despite the weakening of IS in Syria, the group remains active, predominantly carrying out attacks against Kurdish-led forces in the northeast. In 2025, the US and its partner forces reported the detention of more than 300 IS operatives in Syria and the killing of over 20 during the same period.
However, US Special Envoy Tom Barrack has stated that the rationale for the US-SDF partnership has “largely expired,” and that the US is currently focused on ensuring the security of facilities holding IS prisoners and facilitating talks between the SDF and the government of President Ahmed Sharaa.
Barrack has suggested that this moment offers “a pathway to full integration into a unified Syrian state with citizenship rights, cultural protections, and political participation – long denied under Bashar al-Assad’s regime.”
