Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. US Backs Release of 'Low-Level' Islamic State Prisoners in Syria Jeff Seldin WASHINGTON - An effort to reduce growing strains on overcrowded prisons in Syria, some holding thousands of captured Islamic State fighters, is being met with cautious optimism in Washington, even though it involves letting hundreds of the terror group's adherents walk free. The plan put into motion last week by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political arm of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), calls for the release of so-called "low-level" Islamic State members under a general amnesty. Already, 631 such Syrian nationals have been freed, allowed to return to their homes, while another 253 have seen their sentences cut in half, and Kurdish officials say more releases are expected in the coming months. So far, the United States is on board. "We see these return and reintegration initiatives as positive," a State Department spokesperson told VOA, noting the release "focused on nonviolent offenders who are not assessed to pose a radicalization risk to their communities." The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, also suggested aid could be available to help the process go smoothly. "We, along with our coalition partners, are prepared to support receiving communities as part of ongoing stabilization initiatives," the spokesperson said. Concerns about what to do with captured IS fighters and IS supporters have only grown since the collapse of the terror group's caliphate in March 2019. Within months, key Pentagon officials were warning that the more than a dozen makeshift prisons set up by the SDF to hold, at the time, more than 10,000 captured IS fighters, including 2,000 foreign fighters, were simply not sustainable. US officials have long warned the [1]#SDF prisons, while "good enough," could not hold indefinitely "There are not prisons controlled by forces in northeast Syria that can house 10,000 [2]#ISIS fighters" the Pentagon's Defeat IS Task Force said last September[3]https://t.co/8lMVCLCGn0 -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [4]April 3, 2020 Since then, the warnings have only grown louder, sparked by a series of riots starting this past March. [5]#SDF says prison in [6]#Hasakah [7]#Syria under control following a day-long riot by [8]#ISIS prisoners "which required the intervention of special forces and anti-terrorist forces" and also negotiations w/the ISIS prisoners, per [9]@SdfSpokesperson [10]https://t.co/ZQDRdV4opL -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [11]May 4, 2020 NEW: Riot at [12]#SDF-run [13]#Sinaa prison, near [14]#Hasakah [15]#Syria, over and situation under control per official[16]#ISIS prisoners rioted over demands for family visits and "fair trials" per the official. [17]https://t.co/te6wNkJd2I -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [18]June 30, 2020 By late June, the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition told the Pentagon's Inspector General the [19]overcrowded prisons were contributing to "an enduring and ever-increasing risk to mission," and that "the risk of a mass breakout cannot be discounted." At the same time, repeated calls by the U.S. for other countries to relieve the burden on the SDF by repatriating their foreign fighters have largely gone unheeded. And despite millions of dollars in aid from the U.S. to help repair and secure the prisons, officials with the SDF and SDC voiced concern it would not be enough, arguing the prison population had grown to almost 20,000 inmates, including about 12,000 Syrian nationals who had sided with IS. JUST IN: US working with [20]#SDF ([21]#Syria|n Democratic Forces) to secure +12 prisons/detention camps for captured [22]#ISIS fighters-effort part of the $200 million allocated for the anti-ISIS mission this year Word comes less than a week after a major riot at an SDF prison in [23]#Hasakah -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [24]April 3, 2020 The State Department spokesperson told VOA the U.S. believes releasing the low-level IS prisoners will help reduce overcrowding at the SDF-run prisons, "which provides humanitarian benefits and improves internal security." The spokesman also expressed confidence in the SDF, pointing out this is not the first time I[25]S prisoners have been released. "The SDF and civilian authorities have managed these programs responsibly, and we expect that they will continue to do so," the official said. In a statement last week, SDC co-chair Amina Omar sought to play down concerns, arguing the prisoners who were released included those "convicted of terror charges whose hands are not stained with the blood of Syrians." References 1. https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 3. https://t.co/8lMVCLCGn0 4. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1246132886056710145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 5. https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 6. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hasakah?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 7. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 8. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 9. https://twitter.com/SdfSpokesperson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 10. https://t.co/ZQDRdV4opL 11. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1257289129710292993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 12. https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 13. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sinaa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 14. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hasakah?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 15. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 16. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 17. https://t.co/te6wNkJd2I 18. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1277963489529589762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 19. https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/04/2002470215/-1/-1/1/LEAD%20INSPECTOR%20GENERAL%20FOR%20OPERATION%20INHERENT%20RESOLVE%20APRIL%201,%202020%20-%20JUNE%2030,%202020.PDF 20. https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 21. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 22. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 23. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hasakah?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 24. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1246127039318458376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 25. https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/syria-captured-islamic-state-fighters-followers-going-home .