{"id":424048,"date":"2026-01-23T01:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T01:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/424048\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T01:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T01:41:11","slug":"isis-fighters-remain-at-large-after-syria-prison-break-amid-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/424048\/","title":{"rendered":"ISIS fighters remain at large after Syria prison break amid chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

US troops remain in Syrian region to counter ISIS<\/a> <\/p>\n

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has the latest on President Donald Trump\u2019s response to the deadly ambush of two National Guardsmen in Syria on \u2018Special Report.\u2019<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Some ISIS prisoners who escaped from a prison in northeastern Syria<\/a> Jan. 19 are still unaccounted for after the ensuing chaos made tracking some of the fighters “impossible,” an analyst familiar with the situation claimed.<\/p>\n

And as U.S. forces move to transfer thousands of male militants from the region to Iraq, the wives of ISIS fighters<\/a> have been left behind in what he described as “fragile” detention camps.<\/p>\n

“Damascus claims most of the escapees were recaptured, but some remain at large,” Syria analyst Nanar Hawach<\/a> told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“The exact number unaccounted for is unclear because the chaos made tracking them all impossible,” said Hawach of the International Crisis Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

IRAN EXPANDS IT \u2018SHADOW EMPIRE\u2019 ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS TRUMP PULLS TROOPS FROM IRAQ, SYRIA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Syrian <\/p>\n

Syrian security forces increased security measures at Al-Hawl refugee camp. (Santiago Montag\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“The U.S. transfer to Iraq<\/a> covers male detainees from prisons, but those detained in camps remain in Syria under Damascus\u2019 control.”<\/p>\n

U.S. Central Command confirmed Jan. 21 that it had begun transferring ISIS prisoners to Iraqi-controlled centers as an emergency effort to prevent a resurgence of the terror group amid deteriorating security conditions.<\/p>\n

The move followed the prison escape<\/a> at a detention center in Hasakah province during clashes between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.<\/p>\n

Militants broke out during the unrest, and while many were later recaptured, the full scope of the escape remains unclear.<\/p>\n

U.S. forces have already transported roughly 150 ISIS fighters from<\/a> a detention center in Hasakah to secure locations in Iraq, according to CENTCOM, which said as many as 7,000 detainees could be transferred.<\/p>\n

TRUMP ORDERS ISIS STRIKES IN SYRIA AFTER IOWA NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS KILLED<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Syria <\/p>\n

ISIS wives and children remain in “fragile” Syrian detention camps under Damascus’ control while male fighters are transferred to Iraq, leaving the detention crisis unresolved. (\u00a0Santiago Montag\/Anadolu via Getty Image)<\/p>\n

An Iraqi intelligence general told The Associated Press<\/a> Jan. 21 that Iraqi authorities received an initial batch of 144 detainees, with additional transfers planned by aircraft.<\/p>\n

“The U.S. is facilitating transfers to Iraqi custody as an emergency measure because of the unstable security situation in northeast Syria,” Hawach said, noting that Iraq\u2019s secure prisons “reduce the risk of further mass breakouts.”<\/p>\n

“Human rights organizations have raised concerns about trial procedures in Iraq, but the priority right now is preventing escapes, and Iraq can deliver that.”<\/p>\n

Hawach emphasized that the transfers apply only to male fighters held in prisons, not to women and children confined in camps such as the notorious al-Hawl.<\/p>\n

TURKEY SAYS SYRIA USING FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-BACKED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Syria <\/p>\n

ISIS wives and children remain in “fragile” Syrian detention camps under Damascus’ control while male fighters transfer to Iraq, leaving the detention crisis unresolved. (\u00a0Santiago Montag\/Anadolu via Getty Image)<\/p>\n

Al-Hawl camp has held tens of thousands of ISIS-affiliated women and children since the group\u2019s territorial defeat in 2019.<\/p>\n

“Women and children are held in camps, not prisons, and are processed differently than male fighters,” Hawach said.<\/p>\n

“The long-term solution for women and children is repatriation to their home countries, but most governments have been reluctant.<\/p>\n

“Some women are ideologically committed; some are not. Distinguishing between them requires case-by-case assessments that haven\u2019t happened at scale.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, Hawach warned, the deeper problem remains unresolved.<\/p>\n

“The detention system was always fragile, always underfunded, always a temporary solution waiting for permanent answers,” he said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

“The transfers to Iraq address the immediate crisis but don\u2019t solve the underlying problem of what to do with this population long-term.”<\/p>\n

U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said this week that “the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps.”<\/p>\n

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US troops remain in Syrian region to counter ISIS Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,144308,451,29904,129,3,1207,24265,452,453],"class_list":["post-424048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-counter-terrorism","tag-headlines","tag-isis","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-syria","tag-terrorism","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}