US military transfers first 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq

AL-HOL, Syria (AP) — The U.S. military said Wednesday it has started transferring detainees from the Islamic State group being held in northeastern Syria to secure facilities in Iraq.

The move came after Syrian government forces took control of a sprawling camp, housing thousands of mostly women and children, from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which withdrew as part of a ceasefire. Troops on Monday seized a prison in the northeastern town of Shaddadeh, where some IS detainees escaped and many were recaptured, state media reported.

The Kurdish-led SDF still controls more than a dozen detention facilities holding around 9,000 IS members, but is slated to hand the prisons over to government control under a peace process that also is supposed to eventually merge the SDF with government forces.

U.S. Central Command said the first transfer involved 150 IS members, who were taken from Syria’s northeastern province of Hassakeh to “secure locations” in Iraq. The statement said that up to to 7,000 detainees could be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.

“Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.

CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement that during a call with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Cooper had urged Syrian forces to adhere to the ceasefire and “expressed expectations for Syrian forces as well as all other forces to avoid any actions that could interfere” with the transfer of prisoners.

U.S. troops and their partner forces detained more than 300 IS operatives in Syria and killed over 20 last year, the U.S. military said. An ambush last month by IS militants killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in Syria.

The Iraqi army confirmed that the first batch of prisoners had arrived and said others would arrive in numbers to be determined later "with the aim of containing the threat posed by these individuals, who are considered first-tier leaders within terrorist organizations.”

An Iraqi intelligence general told The Associated Press that an agreement was reached with the U.S. to transfer 7,000 detainees from Syria to Iraq. He said that Iraqi authorities received the first batch of 144 detainees Wednesday night, after which they will be transferred in stages by aircraft to Iraqi prisons.

The general, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the IS members who will be transferred to Iraq are of various nationalities. He said they include around 240 Tunisians, in addition to others from countries including Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and some Syrians.

"They will be interrogated and then put on trial. All of them are commanders in ISIS and are considered highly dangerous,” the general said. He added that in previous years, 3,194 Iraqi detainees and 47 French citizens have been transferred to Iraq.

The IS group was defeated in Iraq in 2017, and in Syria two years later, but the group’s sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in both countries. The SDF played a major role in defeating the IS.

Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, said in a statement on Tuesday that the SDF’s role as the primary anti-IS force “has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities.”

He added that the “recent developments show the U.S. actively facilitating this transition, rather than prolonging a separate SDF role.”

Syria's Foreign Ministry welcomed the transfer of detainees, calling it “an important step to strengthen security and stability.”

Earlier on Wednesday, a convoy of armored vehicles with government forces moved into the al-Hol camp following two weeks of clashes with the SDF, which appeared closer to merging into the Syrian military, in accordance with government demands.

At its peak in 2019, some 73,000 people were living at al-Hol. Their number has since declined with some countries repatriating their citizens.

The camp is still home to some 24,000, most of them women and children. They include about 14,500 Syrians and nearly 3,000 Iraqis. Some 6,500 others, many of them loyal IS supporters who came from around the world to join the extremist group, are separately held in a highly secured section of the camp.

An AP journalist visited the camp on Wednesday as scores of soldiers guarded the main entrance.

“Go inside and see the chaos that is happening. There are no clinics, no running water, no bread and no vegetables,” an Iraqi woman living in the camp said, after SDF fighters left the area. The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, called on the Iraqi government to repatriate her.

Another Iraqi woman, who also refused to give her full name out of fear of reprisal, said her brother and uncle were being held in jails in northeast Syria and called on authorities to release them so that they can all return home.

The Syrian government and the SDF announced a new four-day truce late Tuesday after a previous ceasefire broke down.

A drone attack on Wednesday killed seven soldiers and wounded 20 while they were inspecting a weapons depot abandoned by SDF fighters in the northeastern town of Yaaroubiyeh, the Defense Ministry said, blaming the Kurdish forces. The SDF said the blast was triggered by soldiers moving the ammunition.

The SDF and the government traded blame over the escape Monday of IS members from the Shaddedeh prison on the border with Iraq. Under a deal announced Sunday, government forces were to take over the control of the prisons but the transfer did not go smoothly.

The largest detention facility, Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama, has held about 4,500 IS-linked detainees and was still in SDF hands.

Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Hassan Abdul-Ghani said in televised comments Tuesday that the government “was and still is in direct confrontation” with the IS. He added that authorities are ready to take over prisons with IS members.

Mroue reported from Beirut and Abdul-Zahra from Baghdad. Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.

Syrian government soldiers sit atop a vehicle as they patrol inside the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People stand inside the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Local youth play atop of a damaged armored vehicle belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at the site of clashes with Syrian government forces in the village of al-Hol in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces patrol inside the al-Hol camp as smoke rises from an arms depot explosion in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Sundus al-Hassan, 10, poses for a picture inside the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government soldiers light a small fire as they wait to enter the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government soldiers lie on the ground as they wait with others to enter the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces with their luggage wait to enter the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces in armored vehicles enter the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government troops stand guard at the entrance to the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Republican lawmakers are poised to grill former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith at an open hearing, focusing fresh attention on two criminal investigations that shadowed Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Smith testified behind closed doors last month. Thursday's House Judiciary Committee hearing is likely to feature starkly partisan questioning, as Republicans try to undermine the former Justice Department official and Democrats seek to elicit new and damaging testimony about Trump’s conduct.

Smith is standing by his decision as special counsel to bring charges accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

In Switzerland, Trump inaugurated his “ Board of Peace ” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate. Follow live updates from Davos.

The House Oversight Committee meanwhile advanced resolutions to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first time.

And Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches.

The Latest:

Federal prosecutors were stunned when immigration authorities allowed a suspect in a $100 million jewelry heist to deport himself to South America last month as they prepared for his trial.

Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven people charged last year with stealing the jewels from a Brink’s truck at a rest stop north of Los Angeles in 2022. He faced up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted in what’s believed to be the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.

Instead, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him to Ecuador after he requested voluntary departure.

Flores lawyer wants the case dismissed. Prosecutors asked a judge to keep the charges pending. The jewelers who lost millions of dollars worth of diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches want answers. ICE didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

A report issued Thursday by the Council on Criminal Justice is showing a 21% decrease in the homicide rate from 2024 to 2025, based on data collected from 35 American cities. That’s about 922 fewer homicides last year amid decreases in 31 of the cities studied.

Elected officials at all levels — both Democrats and Republicans — have been claiming credit for the steep declines. But experts say the trends are so widespread that local decisions aren’t likely responsible. Republicans have rushed to credit tough-on-crime moves like deploying the National Guard and surging immigration agents. But the data show that cities with no surges of troops or agents saw similar historic drops in crime.

The council’s CEO and president, Adam Gelb, says “it’s a dramatic drop to an absolutely astonishing level,” but “there’s never one reason crime goes up or down.”

▶ Read more about drops in crime across the United States

A judge on Wednesday threw out the boundaries of the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ordering the state to redraw its borders because its current composition unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.

Justice Jeffrey Pearlman said Republican U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' district, which includes all of the borough of Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn, should be reconfigured before this year’s midterm elections. Republicans are expected to appeal as this new front opens in national gerrymandering that has both political parties fighting to control the U.S. House.

Lawmakers in about a third of states have considered redrawing their congressional districts after Trump pushed Republicans to craft new lines to help them hold onto their narrow House majority. Democrats have countered with their own redistricting efforts, at times hampered by laws they had passed intended to prevent partisan gerrymandering.

▶ Read more about the ruling

A House committee advanced resolutions Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first time.

In bipartisan votes, the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee approved the contempt of Congress charges, setting up potential votes in the House early next month. In a rare departure from party lines, some Democrats supported the contempt measures against the Clintons, with several progressive lawmakers emphasizing the need for full transparency in the Epstein investigation.

The repercussions of contempt charges loomed large, given the possibility of a substantial fine and even incarceration. Still, there were signs of a potential thaw as the Clintons appeared to be searching for an off-ramp to testify. In addition, passage of contempt charges through the full House was far from guaranteed, requiring a majority vote — something Republicans increasingly struggle to achieve.

▶ Read more about the Oversight Committee’s vote

Denmark’s prime minister insisted that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty on Thursday after Trump said he agreed on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security with the head of NATO. And NATO said its secretary general, Mark Rutte, hadn’t proposed any compromise to Danish sovereignty.

Trump on Wednesday abruptly scrapped the tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. It was a dramatic reversal hours after he insisted he wanted to get the island “including right, title and ownership” — though he also said he would not use force.

He said “additional discussions” on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome, a multilayered, $175 billion missile system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space. Trump offered few details, saying they were still being worked out.

▶ Read more about Denmark’s reaction

Trump on Thursday inaugurated his “ Board of Peace ” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate.

In his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed by his threats to seize Greenland, and then by his dramatic retreat from that push.

“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”

The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington take a pass.

▶ Read more about the Board of Peace

Republican lawmakers are poised to grill former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday at a congressional hearing that’s expected to focus fresh attention on two criminal investigations that shadowed Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Smith testified behind closed doors last month but returns to the House Judiciary Committee for a public hearing likely to divide along starkly partisan lines between Republican lawmakers looking to undermine the former Justice Department official and Democrats hoping to elicit new and damaging testimony about Trump’s conduct.

Smith will tell lawmakers that he stands behind his decision as special counsel to bring charges against Trump in separate cases accusing the Republican of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

▶ Read more about Smith’s testimony

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he climbs a staircase after a signing ceremony of his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks with Federal agents outside a convenience store on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)