Exclusive: Islamic State suspects sent by U.S. from Syria to Iraq

U.S. forces have quietly sent at least 30 suspected foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria last year and in late 2017 to stand trial in Iraq, interviews with the men, Iraqi sources and court documents show.

Three of the men have been convicted of IS membership and sentenced to death by Iraqi courts, while five have been given life sentences. Four of them told Reuters they were tortured in prison, a claim Reuters was unable to verify.

Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) denied that detainees were transferred to their custody from Syria in 2017 and 2018, and denied the detainees’ claims of torture.

While the fate of thousands of IS fighters captured in Syria remains unresolved, the roughly 30 suspected foreign jihadists were transferred to Iraq in 2017 and 2018 after they were captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to Iraqi court files, U.S. detention records, intelligence and judicial sources as well as people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, declined to comment on Reuters’ findings, but acknowledged the challenges posed by detainees captured by Kurdish militias, whose authority is not internationally recognized

“The issue of foreign terrorist fighters in SDF custody in Syria is an extremely complex problem,” spokesman Captain Bill Urban said.

The United States wants countries to take responsibility for their foreign fighters through “prosecution, rehabilitation programs, or other measures that sufficiently prevent detainees from re-engaging in terrorism”, he said.

“We remain engaged with a wide range of international partners to ensure that these foreign terrorist fighters never threaten anyone again.”

Eight men convicted for their role in IS - from Belgium, France, Germany, Australia, Egypt and Morocco - were interviewed by Reuters during their appearances in Iraqi courts.

They said that after being captured in Syria by U.S.-backed SDF forces they were interrogated about their roles in Islamic State by the SDF and U.S. forces. They said they were then held, mostly in solitary confinement, at U.S. military bases in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region or in Jordan before being handed into Iraqi custody.

The SDF declined to comment on the question of prisoner transfers, referring Reuters to Iraqi authorities. The SDF has said it wants to get rid of foreign fighters because it is not in a position to put them on trial.