{"id":58110,"date":"2018-02-11T21:55:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-11T21:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/11\/future-of-captured-foreign-fighters-in-syria-unclear\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:51:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:51:45","slug":"future-of-captured-foreign-fighters-in-syria-unclear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/11\/future-of-captured-foreign-fighters-in-syria-unclear\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of captured foreign fighters in Syria unclear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ROME \u2013 As the fight against ISIS in Syria continues, the U.S. backed Syrian Defense Force is finding itself confronting what to do with an increasing number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/09\/syrian-forces-capture-2-members-of-islamic-state-beatles\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">captured foreign fighters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issue is magnified by the reluctance from many countries to accept back captured nationals who left to fight besides ISIS, leaving those captured in a legal limbo \u2013 and increasingly crowded facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s an issue U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will address during a meeting of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/07\/pro-assad-fighters-attack-us-backed-forces-coalition-advisers\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">counter-ISIS coalition<\/a> in Rome on Tuesday, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/09\/for-us-in-syria-end-game-gets-murkier-as-isis-shrinks\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">one without a clear solution<\/a> at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to reporters travelling with Mattis, Katie Wheelbarger, principal deputy assistant secretary for international security affairs, said the U.S. is \u201cworking with the coalition on foreign-fighter detainees and generally expect these detainees to return to their country of origin for disposition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But she acknowledged that issue requires a \u201cwhole of government solution\u201d from the various home nations, bringing in their justice systems and interior ministries to \u201ctry to find a country by country ability to keep these folks both off the battlefield and out of our cities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is part of Mattis\u2019 message this week \u2013 that the other defense ministers from the counter-ISIS mission are communicating to their legal counterparts that solutions need to be found to the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/02\/07\/afghanistan-worse-than-ever-russia-holds-the-cards-in-syria-warns-former-dod-boss\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hagel_afghanistan.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Afghanistan worse than ever, Russia \u2018holds the cards\u2019 in Syria, warns former DoD boss<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The situations in Afghanistan and Syria have deteriorated to a point where the U.S. has few options left, said former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question of what happens to foreign fighters captured in Syria has gained extra scrutiny in recent days following the capture of two U.K. nationals, part of a foursome known as \u201cthe Beatles of ISIS.\u201d British officials have raised concerns about bringing them back for trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A U.S. official said that the possibility of moving the two to Guantanamo Bay is not being considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3678315.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-93227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3678315.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3678315.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3678315.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3678315.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Syrian Arab trainees file off a rifle range after completing an iteration of rifle marksmanship training in Northern Syria, July 31, 2017. The Syrian Democratic Forces continue to recruit and train Syrians of all ethnicities who are passionate about joining the counter-ISIS fight to eliminate terror from their homeland. (Sgt. Mitchell Ryan\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the home countries of these fighter work to find a solution, the jailing facilities are becoming packed with prisoners, including thousands of captured ISIS fighters who are Syrian nationals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are certain days we\u2019re seeing 40-50 a day being captured. So the capacity problem is real. I haven\u2019t heard from the SDF [about] a timeframe problem. I think they are willing to hold them as long [as needed] but its more the volume, especially if they continue to capture them at the rates that they are,\u201d Wheelbargers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese aren\u2019t necessarily the best detention facilities, in the sense they are being held in Syria and it\u2019s not the most secure area,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/24\/us-must-give-advance-notice-before-transferring-american-accused-of-fighting-with-isis\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mosul-3317.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US must give advance notice before transferring American accused of fighting with ISIS<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the U.S. government to give 72 hours advance notice before transferring an American citizen accused of fighting with the Islamic State to another country.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coalition is meeting at a point where Mattis says the fighter against ISIS is in a particularly grueling stretch, as the militant group\u2019s resources and fighters in Syria have condensed down into the Euphrates River Valley area. Mattis compared the situation to a snowball, where the coalition forces are \u201ccompacting what\u2019s left of ISIS so the fighting actually becomes a little tougher at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also complicating the fight is the \u201cdistraction,\u201d as Mattis put it, of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/07\/at-us-outpost-in-syria-us-general-backs-kurdish-fighters\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Turkey\u2019s operation against the Kurdish area of Afrin<\/a>. The SDF is roughly 50 percent Kurdish, and some fighters have left the ISIS battle to go back and fight against Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the number of SDF leaving for Afrin have been fairly small, Mattis acknowledged that it is slowing down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/20\/us-troops-to-remain-in-iraq-and-syria-for-the-foreseeable-future\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">the war against ISIS<\/a>. That is expected to come up as a topic during the counter-ISIS meeting as well, with Turkey in attendance for at least part of the meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Syrian Defense Forces are capturing dozens of ISIS fighters a day. What happens to those who can&#8217;t go home?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":93225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,12,25,68],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3323],"class_list":["post-58110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ITF5SRRG2RD6HK477KPWXLZYMI","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/11\/future-of-captured-foreign-fighters-in-syria-unclear\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Future of captured foreign fighters in Syria unclear - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Syrian Defense Forces are capturing dozens of ISIS fighters a day. 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