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U.S. and France stress securing ISIS detainees in northeast Syria, support for Kurdish partners
Summary
Officials said Kurdish forces hold thousands of foreign fighters and families in northeast Syria and called for continued cooperation to prevent a resurgence of ISIS and to integrate local forces into longer-term security arrangements.
U.S. and French officials said they remain focused on preventing a resurgence of Islamic State by securing detainees in northeast Syria and supporting Kurdish forces that helped defeat the group.
The French minister noted “thousands of terrorist prisoners, captured by, the Kurds of Syria,” and said France would seek security guarantees to address Turkey’s legitimate concerns while preserving the Kurds’ role in Syria’s future. He described efforts to reconcile Turkey’s security needs with Kurdish rights and long‑term political inclusion.
Secretary Blinken said the United States also views containment of foreign terrorist fighters as a shared priority: “An even more acute danger would be if the more than 10,000 foreign terrorist fighters…were being detained under the vigilance of our Kurdish friends in Syria were to get out and reconstitute the very potent force that was Daasch.”
Both officials described ongoing work to repatriate fighters and families to countries of origin, to integrate Syrian Democratic Forces into national structures over time, and to coordinate with Turkey to reduce risks of a new conflict. They said the process will take time and emphasized that a renewed conflict in Syria would undermine progress and risk a revival of ISIS.
No new bilateral military commitments or specific timelines for repatriation were announced at the press event.
