Questions have been raised over the fate of thousands of Islamic State prisoners in northeastern Syria after government forces seized parts of the region long held by Kurdish forces that guarded prisons.
The territory was once held by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key ally of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Prisons and camps in northeastern Syria hold tens of thousands of ISIS detainees and their families from dozens of countries, many of whom remain in legal limbo because their home governments have refused to deport them.
Syria’s Interior Ministry announced on Monday that about 120 detainees had escaped from a prison that was once under SDF control. The ministry announced on Tuesday that 81 people had been captured, adding that “intensive security operations are continuing to trace the rest.”
The development highlighted a shift in Washington’s stance that alarmed its former Kurdish partners.
The SDF accused the U.S.-led coalition of failing to come to its aid after being forced out of much of the territory it once controlled. On Tuesday, the country announced its withdrawal from a vast camp holding tens of thousands of ISIS-linked civilians, citing “international indifference.”
US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmad al-Shalah later spoke about the situation, with Trump praising his counterpart’s efforts to reunite the war-torn country after the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.
And on Wednesday, the U.S. military began a relocation mission to transport ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to camps in Iraq.
Here’s what we know about the situation in Syria.
Detainees escaped from al-Shadadi prison on Monday as government forces seized control of the area from the SDF, the US’ local partner in the fight against ISIS, which began in 2015. The SDF and the government accused each other over the release of prisoners.
CNN cannot independently confirm the number of detainees in the prison or the number of escapees. The SDF announced on Monday that “thousands” of ISIS members were being held at al-Shadadi prison.
On Tuesday, the SDF announced that it had withdrawn from al-Hol camp, where tens of thousands of ISIS-linked families are being held, citing “international indifference” to ISIS and “failure of the international community’s responsibility to address this grave issue.”
The Syrian Ministry of Defense said the SDF had abandoned al-Hol, “effectively allowing those held inside” to leave, and was ready to take over ISIS prisons as well as camps. In a separate statement, the government said it had briefed the United States on the situation and accused the Self-Defense Forces of trying to “create a new security crisis in the region.”
US forces have transferred 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in Hasakah to a “safe location” in Iraq, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday. The U.S. military says up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could eventually be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities under the new mission.
“Facilitating the orderly and safe transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing the eruption of an incident that poses a direct threat to U.S. and regional security,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
Syria’s Ministry of Defense has promised that its troops will not enter Kurdish villages when occupying Kurdish-held areas of Syria.
Late Tuesday, the government gave the SDF a four-day ultimatum to find a way to integrate it into the Syrian state. Kurdish groups have demanded the creation of a unit within the Syrian army, but Damascus has refused. The United States urged the Self-Defense Forces to accept Syria’s offer.
The Kurdish Self-Defense Forces feel abandoned by the US as the US government reaffirms central control over all of Syria and strengthens ties with the Shara’a government, which opposes regional autonomy for religious or ethnic minorities.
Over the weekend, the Syrian army, with support from tribal militias, drove Kurdish forces out of vast swathes of northeastern Syria that the SDF had controlled for more than a decade.
The SDF was a partner of the US in Syria, but the US withdrawal from the country in 2019 pushed the Kurdish group into a corner, especially after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the rise of Shara’a in late 2024. The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria has long relied on the SDF to guard ISIS prisons.
The SDF on Monday accused the coalition of failing to intervene to halt the advance of government-allied forces despite “repeated calls” to the base, about 2 kilometers (2 kilometers) away.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Shara had a telephone conversation with President Trump on Monday, during which both sides emphasized “the importance of maintaining Syria’s territorial unity and independence.”
According to SANA, the two leaders also discussed Kurdish rights and the fight against ISIS.
ISIS emerged from the remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq. At its peak, it ruled over a third of Syria, with Raqqa as its capital. In 2017, the SDF declared the “total liberation” of Raqqa and worked with the US-led coalition to retake the territory from ISIS.
The group was largely defeated in 2019, but some elements still operate covertly in Syria and Iraq. When Assad’s regime collapsed, several Middle Eastern countries and their Western allies warned that ISIS could take advantage of the chaos to stage a counterattack.
In November, Sharaa joined the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, and his forces continue to hunt for members of the group.
Human rights groups have criticized the humanitarian conditions in prisons where suspected ISIS members captured by the SDF are held. In 2019, Amnesty International said the prison violated the rights of more than 56,000 people in detention.
“These people include Syrians, Iraqis and other foreign nationals from an estimated 74 countries,” Amnesty said. It added that they were being held in a network of at least 27 detention facilities and two camps.
According to the United Nations, more than 30,000 people are detained in Al-Hol camp.
Developments in Syria have focused renewed attention on the fate of the thousands of foreign fighters and their families remaining in camps and detention facilities in northeastern Syria, and renewed calls for a solution to their situation.
Some countries repatriated small numbers of their nationals, others refused, and some governments stripped detainees of their citizenship.
Many European countries, including Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, are allowing only a limited number of children and their mothers to return.
The United States, which funds the camps, has warned that they cannot continue indefinitely and urged countries to repatriate their nationals.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that Secretary-General António Guterres was watching the situation in Syria “with great concern” and stressed the importance of securing detention facilities.
The United States supports Syria’s moves in the northeast, and the Trump envoy called on Syria’s Kurds to accept Damascus government control over territory they once held.
President Trump said at a news conference Tuesday that Sharaa is “a very hard worker…a strong guy, a tough guy, a pretty rough resume.”
“But we’re not going to put a choir boy in there and get the job done,” he said, adding that he had spoken with his Syrian counterpart about prison conditions.
President Trump commented on the recent clashes, adding that he “loves the Kurds” and is “trying to protect” them.
Tom Barrack, the US special envoy for Syria, told X News on Tuesday that the US strategy for Syria does not include a long-term presence. Citing Syria’s “fundamentally changed” situation due to its “pivot to the West”, he called for the Kurds to be integrated into the Syrian state and said the purpose of the SDF’s presence in northeastern Syria had diminished.
“Historically, the presence of U.S. forces in northeastern Syria has been justified primarily as cooperation against ISIS,” he wrote. “Today, the situation has fundamentally changed. Syria now has a recognized central government that has joined the global coalition to defeat ISIS.”
