BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military has completed the transfer of thousands of Islamic State group detainees from Syria to Iraq, where they are expected to stand trial in the future, the U.S. Central Command said Friday.
CENTCOM said that the transfer that began on Jan. 21 saw U.S. forces transporting more than 5,700 adult male IS suspects from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody.
The prisoners were transferred to Iraq at the request of Baghdad — a move welcomed by the U.S.-led coalition that had for years fought against IS.
“We appreciate Iraq’s leadership and recognition that transferring the detainees is essential to regional security,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.
Iraq's National Center for International Judicial Cooperation said a total of 5,704 suspects from 61 countries who were affiliated with IS were transferred from prisons in Syria.
The Center said most of the suspects were Syrian or Iraqi, though there were other foreign nationals from Europe as well as Australia, Canada and the United States, among other countries.
Over the past three weeks, the U.S. military escorted the detainees from prisons in northeastern Syria run by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, to Baghdad.
The transfers have helped calm fears that the recent rounds of fighting in Syria between government forces and the SDF would allow the IS prisoners to flee from detention camps there and join militant sleeper cells that are still carrying out attacks in both Iraq and Syria.
Iraq is looking to put on trial some of the thousands of the IS detainees who were held for years in Syria without charges or access to the judicial system.
When IS declared a caliphate — a self-proclaimed territory under a traditional form of Islamic rule — in large parts of Syria and Iraq that the militant group seized in 2014, it attracted extremists from around the world.
From the caliphate, the extremists plotted attacks around the world that left hundreds dead from Europe to Arab countries and Asia.
“The successful execution of this orderly and secure transfer operation will help prevent an ISIS resurgence in Syria,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Lambert, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, that led the mission planning, coordination, and execution. He used an acronym to refer to the Islamic State group.
Mroue reported form Beirut.
Iraqi security forces lead suspected Islamic State militants for questioning, after they were transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi security forces lead suspected Islamic State militants for questioning, after they were transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
BOSTON (AP) — New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs on Friday pleaded not guilty to felony strangulation and other criminal charges stemming from an alleged dispute with his personal chef.
Massachusetts Dedham District Court Judge Jeanmarie Carroll released Diggs, 32, on personal recognizance and ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victim. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for April 1.
Wearing a white shirt and tie under a gray sweater, Diggs stood beside his attorney during the brief proceeding, which lasted less than five minutes. Both Diggs and his legal representation declined to speak with reporters.
The arraignment was originally scheduled for Jan. 23 but was postponed so Diggs could play in Super Bowl LX. The Patriots lost 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks.
According to court records, the chef told Dedham officers she and Diggs argued about money he owed her for her work. During the Dec. 2 encounter at his home, she said, he “smacked her across the face” and then “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck,” leaving her feeling short of breath. She told officers she had trouble breathing and felt she could have blacked out.
Diggs’ attorney has said he “categorically denies these allegations,” calling them unsubstantiated and motivated by a financial dispute. Diggs is charged with one count of felony strangulation or suffocation and one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.
The Patriots released a statement saying they support him.
Police said the woman first reported the incident Dec. 16 and initially hesitated to pursue charges before later requesting them, according to court documents.
Diggs signed a three-year, $69 million contract with New England in the offseason and was a key target for quarterback Drake Maye during the Patriots’ AFC East title run. Before joining the Patriots, Diggs was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2015 and played for the Buffalo Bills before a brief stint with the Houston Texans in 2024.
New England Patriots' Stefon Diggs, right, appears for his arraignment on felony strangulation and a misdemeanor assault charges, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at District Court in Dedham, Mass. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
New England Patriots' Stefon Diggs, right, appears for his arraignment on felony strangulation and a misdemeanor assault charges, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at District Court in Dedham, Mass. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs leaves Norfolk County District Court after his arraignment on felony strangulation and a misdemeanor assault charges, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs leaves Norfolk County District Court after his arraignment on felony strangulation and a misdemeanor assault charges, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs leaves Norfolk County District Court after his arraignment on felony strangulation and a misdemeanor assault charges, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs leaves Norfolk County District Court after his arraignment on felony strangulation and a misdemeanor assault charges, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
