More than half of the 5,700 Islamic State (ISIS) detainees recently transferred from Syria to Iraq are Syrian nationals, according to official data obtained by Rudaw from Iraq’s Ministry of Justice.

Figures provided by the ministry’s Correction Service show that over 3,500 detainees currently held at Baghdad’s high-security Karkh Prison are Syrian citizens, while 460 are Iraqis. The remaining prisoners come from more than 60 countries, with the vast majority originating from the Middle East and North Africa.

The large-scale transfer, conducted by the United States military, is one of the most significant detainee relocation operations in recent years. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed in late January that the group includes senior ISIS leaders.

The detainee relocation followed attacks by the Syrian army and allied armed groups against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January. The clashes reportedly led to prison breaks involving ISIS inmates, prompting the US military to transfer thousands of detainees to Iraq.

The US-led coalition had previously partnered with the SDF in the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in 2019. For more than a decade, the SDF administered detention facilities in northeastern Syria holding thousands of ISIS suspects.

However, the coalition has recently shifted its coordination toward Syria’s interim government, which is now working to centralize control over detention facilities previously managed by the SDF. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda figure who has renounced the group, has pledged to combat terrorism.

According to the Iraqi Justice Ministry’s data, regional nationals make up the overwhelming majority of detainees. The breakdown includes:

3,544 from Syria
460 from Iraq
234 from Tunisia
187 from Morocco
181 from Turkey
116 from Egypt
68 from Saudi Arabia
Dozens of detainees are citizens of Western countries. The list includes:

27 from Germany
10 from the United Kingdom
5 from Canada
4 from France
2 from the United States
Additionally, 63 detainees are from Tajikistan in Central Asia.

Many of these individuals had been detained in northeastern Syria since ISIS lost its territorial control in 2019.

Foreign Minister Hussein stated that some countries have agreed to repatriate their nationals but cautioned that the process would be “long and difficult.”

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed the operation, stating that its National Counterterrorism Center worked “around the clock” alongside the US military and the State Department to ensure secure transfers.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said nearly 6,000 “of the most dangerous ISIS detainees” have now been secured in Iraqi custody.

The transfer follows a directive from US President Donald Trump to close makeshift detention facilities in Syria and relocate high-risk detainees to more permanent prisons in Iraq. National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent reportedly led delegations to Baghdad and Syria to finalize the agreement between Iraqi and Syrian authorities.