Syria, Iraq and ISIS
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A fragile truce reached this week between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters was seen as a blow by many Kurds in their hard-won fight for autonomy.
Questions have emerged over the fate of thousands of Islamic State prisoners in northeastern Syria after government forces seized swaths of territory long controlled by Kurdish forces who had been guarding the prisons.
The huge al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria for years has posed an intractable problem — a destitute and increasingly dangerous detention site where ISIS ideology lives on.
U.S. forces moved 150 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq as CENTCOM began a transfer operation involving up to 7,000 radical prisoners.
"We've requested and demanded guarantees, but as always, the U.S. does not give any," the SDF's political co-chair told Newsweek.
The strikes come in retaliation for an attack that killed three Americans.
Chaos around prisons holding ISIS detainees in Syria is highlighting security risks for U.S. forces in the region.
The new regime seeks to crush a U.S.-backed Kurdish force.
The safe pasage decision comes as U.S. troops have elevated security concerns as they transport some 7,000 ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq, a highly complex operation. CENTCOM has carried out three waves of attacks against ISIS leaders in the wake of the deadly ambush, called Operation Hawkeye Strike, and U.S. officials are wary of retaliation.