Europeans among 150 IS detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq
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.They were among an estimated 7,000 militants due to be moved across the border to Iraq as the Kurdish-led force that has held them for years relinquishes swathes of territory to the advancing Syrian army.In 2014, IS swept across Syria and Iraq, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into physical slavery, but backed by a US-led coalition, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ultimately defeated the militants in Syria five years later.This month, the United States said the purpose of its alliance with the Kurds had largely expired, as Syria's new authorities pressed an offensive to take back territory long held by the SDF, which agreed to withdraw from swathes of territory in the north and east.The EU said yesterday that alleged breakouts by detained IS foreign fighters in Syria were of "paramount concern" and was monitoring the transfer of prisoners to Iraq, "including foreign terrorist fighters".An Iraqi security official said the 150 detainees, which the US military transferred to Iraq on Wednesday, were "all leaders of the Islamic State group, and some of the most notorious criminals," and included "Europeans, Asians, Arabs and Iraqis".Another Iraqi security source said the group included "85 Iraqis and 65 others of various nationalities, including Europeans, Sudanese, Somalis, and people from the Caucasus region".They "all participated in IS operations in Iraq," including the 2014 offensive that saw the militant group seize large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria "are all at the level of leaders", he said.They are now held at a prison in Baghdad.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that "non-Iraqi terrorists will be in Iraq temporarily".In a telephone call yesterday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S al-Sudani urged European countries to take back and prosecute their nationals.The SDF jailed thousands of suspected militants and detained tens of thousands of their relatives in camps as it pushed out IS.The militant group's onslaught came during the peak of Syria's civil war, which was sparked by longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protests.After toppling Assad just over a year ago, President Ahmed al-Sharaa is now seeking to consolidate the government's control over all of Syria.Despite repeated Kurdish and US appeals, foreign governments have generally avoided repatriating their nationals, fearing security threats and political backlash.US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that he had helped stop a prison break of European militants in Syria, a day after the army accused the SDF of releasing IS detainees from the Shadadi prison.The Kurds said they lost control of the facility after an attack by Damascus.Syrian authorities later said they had arrested "81 of the fugitives".In north Syria's Raqa province, an AFP correspondent saw Kurdish forces who formerly controlled the Al-Aqtan prison housing IS detainees being bussed out yesterday under a deal with the government.In northeast Syria, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Celine Schmitt said it had been unable to enter Al-Hol camp -- the biggest facility housing suspected IS relatives including foreigners -- for three days due to "the volatile security situation".