Iraq issues warning of potential attacks close to detention facility holding Islamic State detainees

Iraq issued a warning on Sunday regarding the potential threat to the security of a prison near Baghdad airport, which houses Islamic State group suspects transferred from Syria, due to recent drone attacks in the area.

n

The United States had completed the transfer of 5,700 IS detainees from Syria to Iraq in February, and these detainees have been held in Baghdad’s al-Karkh prison since then.

n

Al-Karkh prison, previously a US Army detention centre known as Camp Cropper, is part of Baghdad airport’s complex, and has been subjected to repeated strikes, according to Justice ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi.

n

Laibi stated that some strikes have hit near the facility, raising concerns about the potential impact on the security of the prison, which houses high-risk terrorist inmates.

n

The most intense strikes occurred on Saturday, with some hitting very close to the prison, Laibi added.

n

Since the start of the Middle East war, Tehran-backed armed groups have been claiming responsibility for daily drone and rocket attacks against US bases in Iraq.

n

Baghdad airport is home to a US diplomatic facility and, until recently, also hosted troops from the US-led international coalition against jihadists.

n

Laibi noted that while security measures are in place to ensure stability, the frequency and proximity of these attacks remain a cause for concern.

n

In 2014, IS swept across Syria and Iraq, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.

n

Iraq, backed by US-led forces, proclaimed the defeat of IS in the country in 2017, while the Kurdish-led Syrian forces ultimately beat back the group in Syria two years later.