ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The US government is planning to send hundreds of captured ISIS fighters to a prison in Iraq and some to Guantanamo Bay, NBC News has reported citing US officials and European diplomats.
According to the report, the Trump administration is considering this move because other countries refused to take the ISIS fighters including British jihadists Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh. They had created a violent ISIS cell dubbed "The Beatles.”
“Detainees sent to Iraq would be held in Iraqi prisons with Iraqi guards, but the might retain the right to prosecute them if they could not be sent to their home countries,” reads the report citing officials.
Their extradition has become politicized in London because the United States has capital punishment.
“The prisoners who may be destined for Iraq or Cuba would be drawn from a group of about 600 currently held by the -backed Syrian Democratic Forces in a rebel-controlled area of Syria, say the officials. Many of the detainees are foreign fighters, and range from foot soldiers plucked off the battlefield to the highest value detainees who were tracked and captured with help from the military,” the report added.
Several hundred ISIS detainees are currently held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iraqi Security Forces.
"Our partners in Syria are detaining terrorists who were captured or surrendered, including many foreign terrorist fighters. All options will be considered. The president and his national security team will pursue the option that best protects the national security interests of the United States,” NBC quoted a spokesman from the US National Security Council as saying.
The United Kingdom is a founding member of the 78-member strong US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
"We encourage all of our partners to take responsibility for their citizens, including prosecuting them for any crimes they've committed, and ensuring they cannot return to the battlefield. We will continue to pursue all diplomatic avenues. We have no further specifics to provide at this time," an unnamed State Department spokesperson told NBC.
The idea of US President Donald Trump administration has supporters and critics among government officials, senators, and human rights organizations.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, has said those suspected of killing Americans must be prosecuted civilian courts.
Meanwhile Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee, who has visited the SDF prison in Syria says that some of the high-ranking ISIS detainees, including the “Beatles” could be sent to Guantanamo even if temporarily before trying them in a federal court.
According to the report, the Trump administration is considering this move because other countries refused to take the ISIS fighters including British jihadists Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh. They had created a violent ISIS cell dubbed "The Beatles.”
“Detainees sent to Iraq would be held in Iraqi prisons with Iraqi guards, but the might retain the right to prosecute them if they could not be sent to their home countries,” reads the report citing officials.
Their extradition has become politicized in London because the United States has capital punishment.
“The prisoners who may be destined for Iraq or Cuba would be drawn from a group of about 600 currently held by the -backed Syrian Democratic Forces in a rebel-controlled area of Syria, say the officials. Many of the detainees are foreign fighters, and range from foot soldiers plucked off the battlefield to the highest value detainees who were tracked and captured with help from the military,” the report added.
Several hundred ISIS detainees are currently held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iraqi Security Forces.
"Our partners in Syria are detaining terrorists who were captured or surrendered, including many foreign terrorist fighters. All options will be considered. The president and his national security team will pursue the option that best protects the national security interests of the United States,” NBC quoted a spokesman from the US National Security Council as saying.
The United Kingdom is a founding member of the 78-member strong US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
"We encourage all of our partners to take responsibility for their citizens, including prosecuting them for any crimes they've committed, and ensuring they cannot return to the battlefield. We will continue to pursue all diplomatic avenues. We have no further specifics to provide at this time," an unnamed State Department spokesperson told NBC.
The idea of US President Donald Trump administration has supporters and critics among government officials, senators, and human rights organizations.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, has said those suspected of killing Americans must be prosecuted civilian courts.
Meanwhile Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee, who has visited the SDF prison in Syria says that some of the high-ranking ISIS detainees, including the “Beatles” could be sent to Guantanamo even if temporarily before trying them in a federal court.
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