ATHENS: The towing of an abandoned tanker struck by Yemen’s Houthis in August, threatening environmental disaster, is proceeding slowly for a second day, a Greek military source told AFP Sunday.
The operation to tow the Greek-flagged Sounion which began Saturday “is proceeding at a very slow pace,” the source said, adding that it was “initially headed north” without revealing a destination.
The tanker was hit on August 21 by Iran-backed Houthis with missiles off the coast of Hodeida while carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
After the initial strike, the Houthis returned and detonated charges on the ship’s deck, setting off new fires.
Damage to the vessel had threatened a Red Sea oil spill four times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.
The operation is being overseen by the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission, Aspides, which Sunday said the tanker was being towed to a “safe location.”
“The salvage of the MV SOUNION is a complex operation and consists of various phases,” the mission said on X, formerly Twitter.
It added aerial shots of the tanker escorted by two warships, one dated Sunday, in which it is still emitting smoke.
Greek state news agency ANA said the tugboat was escorted by three frigates, helicopters and a special forces team, without disclosing the states of origin.
Fires were still visible on board in Aspides pictures on X dated Saturday.
“When it reaches safe mooring there will be an attempt to put out the fire and preliminary steps will be taken to secure the cargo from leaking,” the Greek source said Sunday.
The ships’ radars have been turned off for security reasons.
The tanker had been anchored west of the militia-held port city of Hodeida, midway between Yemen and Eritrea.
The Sounion’s crew — made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians — was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with the EU mission.
The EU naval force was formed in February to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthi militia, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is intended to show solidarity with Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Since November, the Houthi attacks have caused the sinking of two ships and deaths of at least four crew members.
The Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at ships in the vital commercial route, saying they are targeting vessels linked to Israel, the US and Britain in solidarity with Palestinians over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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Stricken Red Sea tanker salvage makes ‘slow’ progress: Greek military
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Stricken Red Sea tanker salvage makes ‘slow’ progress: Greek military
- The operation is being overseen by the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission Aspides
- Damage to the vessel had threatened a Red Sea oil spill four times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska
US transfers thousands of Daesh detainees from Syria to Iraq
BAGHDAD: The United States Central Command said it has completed the transfer of more than 5,700 detained Daesh group suspects from Syria to Iraq.
The detainees from some 60 countries had for years been held in Syrian prisons run by Kurdish-led forces before the recapture of surrounding territory by Damascus prompted Washington to step in.
CENTCOM said it “completed a transfer mission following a nighttime flight from northeastern Syria to Iraq on Feb 12 to help ensure Daesh detainees remain secure in detention facilities.”
“The 23-day transfer mission began on Jan 21 and resulted in US forces successfully transporting more than 5,700 adult male Daesh fighters from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody,” it added in a statement.
The US had previously announced it would transfer around 7,000 detainees.
Daesh swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.
Backed by US-led forces, Iraq proclaimed the defeat of Daesh in the country in 2017, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ultimately beat back the group in Syria two years later.
The SDF went on to jail thousands of suspected jihadists and detain tens of thousands of their relatives in camps.
- 61 countries -
Last month, Syrian troops drove Kurdish forces from swathes of northern Syria, sparking questions over the fate of the Daesh prisoners.
Lingering doubts about security pushed Washington to announce it would transfer them to Iraq to prevent “a breakout” that could threaten the region.
“We appreciate Iraq’s leadership and recognition that transferring the detainees is essential to regional security,” said head of CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper.
“Job well done to the entire Joint Force team who executed this exceptionally challenging mission on the ground and in the air,” he added.
Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation (NCIJC) said 5,704 Daesh detainees of 61 nationalities have arrived in Iraq.
They include 3,543 Syrians, 467 Iraqis, and another 710 detainees from other Arab countries.
There are also more than 980 foreigners including those from Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States.
The NCIJC said Iraq’s judiciary will interrogate the detainees before taking legal action against them.
Many prisons in Iraq are already packed with Daesh suspects.
Iraqi courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences and life terms to those convicted of terrorism offenses, including foreign fighters.
Under Iraqi law, terrorism and murder offenses are punishable by death, and execution decrees must be signed by the president.
The detainees in Syria were transferred to Baghdad’s Al-Karkh prison, once a US Army detention center known as Camp Cropper, where former ruler Saddam Hussein was held before his execution.
To make space for the newcomers, authorities moved thousands of prisoners from the Karkh prison to other facilities, a lawyer and an inmate told AFP on condition of anonymity.
- Repatriation -
Iraq has issued calls for countries to repatriate their nationals among the Daesh detainees, though this appears unlikely.
For years, Syria’s Kurdish forces also called on foreign governments to take back their citizens, but this was done on a small scale limited to women and children held in detention camps.
Most foreign families have left northeast Syria’s Al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of Daesh fighters, since the departure of Kurdish forces who previously guarded it, humanitarian sources told AFP on Thursday.
Last month, the Syrian government took over the camp from Kurdish forces who ceded territory as Damascus extended its control across swathes of Syria’s northeast.
The detainees from some 60 countries had for years been held in Syrian prisons run by Kurdish-led forces before the recapture of surrounding territory by Damascus prompted Washington to step in.
CENTCOM said it “completed a transfer mission following a nighttime flight from northeastern Syria to Iraq on Feb 12 to help ensure Daesh detainees remain secure in detention facilities.”
“The 23-day transfer mission began on Jan 21 and resulted in US forces successfully transporting more than 5,700 adult male Daesh fighters from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody,” it added in a statement.
The US had previously announced it would transfer around 7,000 detainees.
Daesh swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.
Backed by US-led forces, Iraq proclaimed the defeat of Daesh in the country in 2017, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ultimately beat back the group in Syria two years later.
The SDF went on to jail thousands of suspected jihadists and detain tens of thousands of their relatives in camps.
- 61 countries -
Last month, Syrian troops drove Kurdish forces from swathes of northern Syria, sparking questions over the fate of the Daesh prisoners.
Lingering doubts about security pushed Washington to announce it would transfer them to Iraq to prevent “a breakout” that could threaten the region.
“We appreciate Iraq’s leadership and recognition that transferring the detainees is essential to regional security,” said head of CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper.
“Job well done to the entire Joint Force team who executed this exceptionally challenging mission on the ground and in the air,” he added.
Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation (NCIJC) said 5,704 Daesh detainees of 61 nationalities have arrived in Iraq.
They include 3,543 Syrians, 467 Iraqis, and another 710 detainees from other Arab countries.
There are also more than 980 foreigners including those from Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States.
The NCIJC said Iraq’s judiciary will interrogate the detainees before taking legal action against them.
Many prisons in Iraq are already packed with Daesh suspects.
Iraqi courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences and life terms to those convicted of terrorism offenses, including foreign fighters.
Under Iraqi law, terrorism and murder offenses are punishable by death, and execution decrees must be signed by the president.
The detainees in Syria were transferred to Baghdad’s Al-Karkh prison, once a US Army detention center known as Camp Cropper, where former ruler Saddam Hussein was held before his execution.
To make space for the newcomers, authorities moved thousands of prisoners from the Karkh prison to other facilities, a lawyer and an inmate told AFP on condition of anonymity.
- Repatriation -
Iraq has issued calls for countries to repatriate their nationals among the Daesh detainees, though this appears unlikely.
For years, Syria’s Kurdish forces also called on foreign governments to take back their citizens, but this was done on a small scale limited to women and children held in detention camps.
Most foreign families have left northeast Syria’s Al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of Daesh fighters, since the departure of Kurdish forces who previously guarded it, humanitarian sources told AFP on Thursday.
Last month, the Syrian government took over the camp from Kurdish forces who ceded territory as Damascus extended its control across swathes of Syria’s northeast.
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