US general warns of Islamic State ‘army in detention’ in Syria and Iraq

The head of the US military’s Central Command visited several prisons and camps in northeastern Syria holding suspected jihadists and their relatives

‘In visiting the detention facility, I saw the looming threat posed by this group of detained ISIS fighters,’ General Michael Kurilla said in a statement

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US Central Command’s General Michael Kurilla, centre, visits a camp that holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province. Photo: US Central Command (CENTCOM) / AFP

Published: 1:02am, 12 Mar 2023

A US general warned on Saturday that the Middle East faces the looming threat of an Islamic State group “army in detention”, after visiting prisons and camps in northeastern Syria holding suspected jihadists and their relatives.

General Michael Kurilla, head of the US military’s Central Command, visited several detention facilities this week, including Ghwayran prison in the city of Hasakah, where hundreds were killed after jihadists stormed it early last year, a CENTCOM statement said.

US Central Command’s General Michael Kurilla, right, visits a camp that holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province. Photo: US Central Command (CENTCOM) / AFP

“In visiting the detention facility, I saw the looming threat posed by this group of detained ISIS fighters,” Kurilla said in the statement, using another acronym for IS.

“Between those detained in Syria and Iraq it is a veritable ‘ISIS army in detention’. If freed, this group would pose a great threat regionally and beyond,” he added.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by a US-led coalition, spearheaded the fight against IS in Syria, driving the group from its last redoubt in the country in 2019.

Tens of thousands of people, including relatives of alleged jihadists, have been detained in the years since in camps run by the Kurdish authorities, including the notorious al-Hol camp, where around 10,000 foreigners are held.

Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens, but foreign governments have allowed only a trickle to return home, fearing security threats and domestic political backlash.