‘Syria joining anti-IS coalition ‘marks a new chapter’ in global security’

Beirut: The US-led international coalition to fight the Islamic State group has welcomed Syria in the fight against the extremists, saying that the priorities include the swift transfer of IS detainees to Iraq and third-country repatriation of families linked to IS held in two camps in Syria.

The State Department also welcomed a recent ceasefire that ended fighting between Syrian government forces and the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that were a main force in the fight against IS in Syria.

Representatives from Syria — which officially joined the global coalition against IS in November during a historic visit by Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s to Washington — attended a meeting on Monday of some officials from the 90-member coalition in Saudi Arabia.

“Regional solutions, shared responsibility. Syria’s participation in the D-ISIS Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security,” Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, said in comments posted on X on Tuesday, using an acronym to refer to IS.

The US military began transferring some of the about 9,000 IS detainees held in northeastern Syria last month to secure facilities in Iraq, following clashes between government forces and the SDF.agencies