US President Donald Trump said during a press conference on Wednesday that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi has assured him that the fighters of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) imprisoned in northeast Syria are being detained under strong supervision
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2019) US President Donald Trump said during a press conference on Wednesday that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi has assured him that the fighters of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) imprisoned in northeast Syria are being detained under strong supervision."I have just spoken with General Mazloum, a wonderful man, the commander-in-chief of the SDF Kurds and he was extremely thankful for what the United States has done, could not have been more thankful," Trump said. "General Mazlum has assured me that ISIS [Islamic State] is under very, very strict lock and key and the detention facilities are being strongly maintained."
Trump noted, however, that a small number of Islamic State prisoners had escaped during Turkey's operation in northeast Syria, but have been largely recaptured.
Earlier on Wednesday, US Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that more than 100 Islamic State fighters have escaped and their whereabouts are unknown.
Trump called on European countries to take back those detained foreign fighters who hold their citizenship.
On October 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in northeast Syria to clear the area of Kurdish and Islamic State fighters.
The United States and Turkey on October 17 reached an agreement on a 120-hour ceasefire in northeast Syria to allow for the withdrawal of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
As the five-day ceasefire ended, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a deal late on Tuesday to pull the Kurdish fighters back and establish joint patrols in the safe zone in northeast Syria along the Turkish border.
