US welcomes Iraq’s move to detain ISIS suspects

WASHINGTON

The US on Thursday welcomed the Iraqi government’s decision to detain ISIS (Daesh) terrorists in secure facilities inside Iraq, citing recent instability in northeast Syria.

“The United States appreciates the Iraqi government’s leadership and supports this bold initiative to ensure that ISIS terrorists cannot roam freely throughout the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Rubio noted that Iraq, as a member of the US-led Coalition to Defeat ISIS, remains on the front line in efforts to counter the terror group.

“Non-Iraqi terrorists will be in Iraq temporarily; the United States urges countries to take responsibility and repatriate their citizens in these facilities to face justice,” he said.

“This is a critical part of a long-term framework to prevent an ISIS resurgence, in line with proper burden sharing among Coalition member,” he added.

The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said Thursday it plans to take legal action against detainees from the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group transferred to Iraq from neighboring Syria.

The statement came after CENTCOM announced Tuesday that it launched a mission to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq to help ensure the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities.

The mission began with US forces transporting 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in northeastern Hasakah province to a secure location in Iraq, with plans for up to 7,000 detainees to eventually be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.