Justice Ministry: Global Coalition covers food for ISIS prisoners in Iraq

Shafaq News- Baghdad

The Global Coalition is responsible for providing food to ISIS detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq, the Ministry of Justice said on Friday, denying that Baghdad bears the cost.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that 5,064 detainees have been relocated so far, including more than 270 Iraqis, over 3,000 Syrians, and others of various nationalities.

All detainees are being held in a single prison facility and will be investigated and tried under Iraqi law, Laibi explained, adding that Justice Minister Khaled Shwani coordinated the measures with the US-led Coalition.

The transfers follow recent security tensions in northeastern Syria between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus authorities that affected ISIS detention sites. In response, US Central Command began relocating detainees to prisons under Iraqi authority as part of a broader plan covering nearly 7,000 inmates.

Informed sources told Shafaq News earlier this week that around 5,000 transferred ISIS detainees are currently held in high-security facilities in Iraq, with authorities preparing new investigations before any redistribution to provincial prisons.

Read more: How eastern Syria could reignite a cross-border threat with Iraq