Suspected ISIS members from dozens of nations together with Canada have been moved out of Syria to prisons in Iraq, an official confirmed on Friday.
Iraq’s judiciary introduced that greater than 5,700 detainees had been transferred into its custody and that they had been residents of 61 international locations, together with Canada.
Whereas greater than half are Syrians, the Nationwide Heart for Worldwide Judicial Cooperation listed Canada among the many “most outstanding international nationalities.”
The others included residents of Germany, Russia, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, South Africa, New Zealand and the UK.
The assertion didn’t specify what number of Canadians had been despatched to Iraq, nor establish them by identify. World Affairs Canada stated solely that it was monitoring the state of affairs.
However World Information has recognized no less than 5 Canadian males who had been being held in Syria previous to the switch, together with a self-admitted ISIS sniper from Mississauga, Ont.
Dozens of extremists left Canada to hitch ISIS. Whereas most had been killed, Kurdish fighters took a number of into custody throughout the closing phases of the battle in 2019.
The federal authorities flew the ladies and youngsters again to Canada in 2022 and 2023, however left the boys within the custody of the Kurdish forces.
They had been detained in makeshift prisons in northeast Syria, a area that was managed by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
U.S. army autos escort passenger buses transporting Islamic State detainees from northeastern Syria into Iraq. Feb. 8, 2026. (Credit score Picture: © Stringer/Xinhua by way of ZUMA Press).
However final month, america started transferring the detainees to Iraq as Syrian authorities forces and jihadist teams started pushing into Kurdish-held areas.
The switch wound down on Thursday, with virtually 6,000 ISIS suspects having been transported throughout the border to prisons in Iraq.
The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council has stated they might be investigated and placed on trial in Iraq.
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The council stated in an announcement that it had jurisdiction over all of the detainees, “no matter their nationality or place” in ISIS.
However Iraq additionally urged different international locations to do their half and stated it was unacceptable that some international locations refused to repatriate their residents.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged “international locations to take duty and repatriate their residents in these amenities to face justice.”
Muhammad Ali left Toronto in 2014 to hitch ISIS and was captured by Kurdish forces as he tried to flee.
World Information
The Canadians captured in Syria included Muhammad Ali, who joined ISIS in 2014 and used social media to incite terrorist assaults in Canada.
In an interview with World Information after he was captured in 2018, the Mississauga, Ont. resident admitted he was a part of an ISIS sniper workforce.
Additionally held by the Kurds had been residents of Edmonton, Windsor and Montreal, in addition to Jack Letts, a Briton who has by no means lived in Canada however obtained citizenship via his father.
A sixth Canadian, Mohammed Khalifa, was taken out of Syria by america and flown to Washington, D.C., in 2021 to face trial for terrorism.
The Toronto resident was sentenced to life for making ISIS propaganda movies through which he was proven executing prisoners with a handgun.
Iraqi safety forces lead suspected Islamic State militants for questioning after they had been transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Jail in Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photograph/Hadi Mizban).
Iraq has already put tens of hundreds of suspected ISIS members via prosecutions which have been criticized by human rights teams.
Human Rights Watch stated the trials relied on confessions, regardless of torture allegations, and courts paid little heed to every suspect’s position in ISIS.
“Iraq is thought for extremely expedited proceedings the place defendants typically had restricted or no entry to authorized counsel, proof was not often scrutinized in depth, and verdicts had been delivered instantly,” stated Queen’s College professor Amarnath Amarasingam. “This has resulted in lengthy jail sentences and even the loss of life penalty.”
“Researchers have warned for years that this may increasingly occur finally if international locations didn’t repatriate their residents from these camps and prisons,” stated Amarasingam, a terrorism knowledgeable who has studied Canadian ISIS members.
“By leaving Iraq to soak up the authorized burden alone, states have outsourced justice to an overwhelmed system. There at the moment are critical considerations about due course of and wrongful convictions.”
Requested by World Information concerning the problem final month, Overseas Affairs Minister Anita Anand didn’t verify that Canadians had been amongst these despatched to Iraq.
“We’re inspecting the state of affairs and we’re in contact with our consular officers at each step of the best way,” she stated in Ottawa.
World Affairs Canada equally wouldn’t share any particulars on Thursday, saying it could not remark for “privateness and safety causes.”
“The protection and safety of Canadians all the time stay the utmost precedence for the federal government of Canada whereas assembly crucial authorized obligations.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
© 2026 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
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