US EditionSyrian forces take control of prison housing IS members after Kurdish fighters evacuate
Syrian Interior Ministry says specialized teams now secure al-Aqtan prison holding up to 2,000 detainees amid U.S. transfers of 7,000 Islamic State prisoners to Iraq.
- On Friday, Syrian government forces took control of al-Aqtan prison north of Raqqa after nearly 800 Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces evacuated under a negotiated deal, Syria's Interior Ministry said the government prisons authority assumed charge and is reviewing detainee files.
- During a two-week offensive earlier this week, government forces had surrounded al-Aqtan from all sides, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday night after previous truces collapsed.
- Raqqa governor Abdul-Rahman Salama said al-Aqtan holds up to 2,000 detainees and the SDF said it contains IS-linked prisoners, following U.S. transfers among 9,000 detainees two days earlier.
- The SDF said it completed relocating fighters securing al-Aqtan with U.S.-led coalition support, Gen. Abdul-Qader Tahan inspected the prison Friday, and the Syrian government welcomed the transfer deal.
- U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said the SDF's role `has largely expired` as the Syrian government takes control after a deal signed by Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, following the early January displacement into Hassakeh.
22 Articles
22 Articles
SDF hands over prison to Syria govt amid doubts over truce deal
The Syrian government said early on Friday that its troops had begun transferring Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters from the Al-Atqan prison in the north, where they had been holding detainees linked to the Islamic State group. This came amid continued doubts about a four-day ceasefire deal between the SDF and government forces, with reports of rights abuses by both sides and allegations of ethnic cleansing and massacres by the…
Syrian Forces Reclaim Al-Aqtan Prison Amid Strategic Transfers
Syrian government forces took control of al-Aqtan prison from Kurdish fighters, part of an ongoing shift in detainee management. This move follows an agreement allowing Syrian Democratic Forces to transition roles, as U.S. support wanes. Al-Aqtan's takeover marks a strategic push to handle IS detainees more centrally.
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