Small Wars Journal

Defeated and Held in Syria, ISIS Fighters Still Pose a Threat

Thu, 01/25/2018 - 8:54am

Defeated and Held in Syria, ISIS Fighters Still Pose a Threat by Eric Schmitt – New York Times

American-backed Kurdish militias in northern Syria are detaining hundreds of Islamic State fighters and family members in makeshift camps, raising fears among United States military officials of potentially creating a breeding ground for extremists — repeating a key security mistake of the Iraq war.

Despite its concerns, the Trump administration has largely taken a hands-off approach toward the detainees, who come from more than 30 countries and were captured or surrendered after last year’s collapse of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital.

Unlike suspected Islamic State militants seized in neighboring Iraq, largely from the northern city of Mosul and surrounding areas, the detainees being held in the Kurdish region of Syria fall into a legal gray area and face an uncertain long-term fate.

Kurdish authorities are meting out justice in ad hoc courts, but the region is still part of Syria, and Kurdish control is not internationally recognized. Some countries like Russia have signaled that they will repatriate their fighters, but many other nations are refusing.

The detention of the Islamic State fighters is just one issue the United States is grappling with in its partnership with Syrian Kurds…

Read on.