Contrary to Trump’s allegation, US officials have told CNN there are no indications that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have intentionally released any of the 10,000-plus ISIS prisoners in SDF custody as part of a bid to draw international support in the face of a Turkish assault on Kurdish areas in north Syria.
While the SDF has repeatedly highlighted the danger of ISIS escaping to draw attention to the issue and draw international support, they have made it clear that they need to prioritize their personnel, redeploying forces that had been guarding the detention camps to the front with Turkey, leaving some of the camps undermanned or even near totally abandoned.
The US believes the SDF is unlikely to intentionally release any ISIS prisoners as they would pose a direct threat to Kurdish areas given the hatred ISIS has for the Kurds given their role in ejecting ISIS from its territory in Syria.
The SDF have also said can’t take sole responsibility for the camps in the face of a Turkish attack. Turkish warplanes and artillery have also repeatedly struck several detention camps which could jeopardize the security of the facilities.
Here’s Trump’s tweets this morning:
