US CENTCOM chief 'very concerned' Turkish incursion into Syria could lead to IS prisoner releases

A Turkish incursion into northern Syria could lead to Islamic State group prisoners held in the area being released, the chief of US Central Command has reportedly warned.

In comments reported by Bloomberg, US CENTCOM chief Michael E. Kurilla said Thursday that he was "very concerned" that Turkey's repeatedly threatened incursion into northern Syria could divert the attention of the Kurdish-led forces securing prisons that hold IS suspects.

"Anything we can do to deescalate the situation and prevent that incursion by the Turks would be important," Kurilla told reporters. 

Turkey says the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that control northeastern Syria are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group that has fought a decades-long conflict with Ankara to secure greater Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.

Ankara already frequently carries out air operations and drone strikes on northern Syria, and has carried out large-scale ground operations before.

Kurdish-led forces, a partner of the US-led coalition fighting IS, have repeatedly asked for more help in handling the approximately 10,000 IS suspect prisoners it holds. It has asked for governments to take back foreign nationals who were detained for fighting with the extremist group.

They have also asked for the thousands of women and children held at Al-Hol camp to be repatriated to their countries of origin, to slightly more success.

Turkey, a member of NATO, struck Al-Hol late last month, the SDF said.

Washington has repeatedly responded to Turkish threats of an incursion with alarm and called for de-escalation.