Secret Airlift Moved Thousands of ISIS Fighters Before Chaos Hit

A fast-moving U.S.-led operation quietly transferred nearly 6,000 ISIS detainees out of northern Syria, a move officials say prevented a potential battlefield resurgence that could have unfolded within days. According…

Andrew PowellFeb 19, 20263 min read

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an official to

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and Iraq to begin discussions on removing the most dangerous detainees before the situation deteriorated.

Those concerns intensified when violence spread from Aleppo eastward in early January. Daily interagency calls brought together intelligence leaders, diplomats, and military planners to prevent what one official called a looming catastrophe.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio handled day-to-day policy coordination while the Office of the Director of National Intelligence led the operational planning, aligning CENTCOM, the State Department, and regional partners around a single objective: keep thousands of ISIS fighters from slipping into the fog of war.

Iraq agreed to take custody, driven by fears that a mass breakout would recreate what one official described as a “2014 ISIS is on our border situation once more.” The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad helped clear diplomatic hurdles for the transfer.

CENTCOM then executed the physical movement, surging helicopters and other assets to relocate detainees in a compressed timeframe.

“Thanks to the efforts… moving in helicopters, moving in more resources, and then just logistically making this happen, we were able to get these nearly 6000 out in the course of just a few weeks,” the official said.

The detainees are now held at a facility near Baghdad International Airport under Iraqi control.

The next phase centers on identification and prosecution. FBI teams are conducting biometric enrollment while U.S. officials work to share intelligence for legal cases.

“What they were asking us for, basically, is giving them as much intelligence and information that we have on these individuals,” the official said. “So right now, the priority is on biometrically identifying these individuals.”

The operation did not include ISIS families held in camps such as al-Hol, which the official said remain a major unresolved challenge. Control of that camp has shifted, and reports that detainees are being released were described as “very concerning.”