EXCLUSIVE: This was the kind of prison break officials say could have changed the region, and perhaps even the world, overnight.

Nearly 6,000 ISIS detainees, described by a senior U.S. intelligence official as “the worst of the worst,” were being held in northern Syria as clashes and instability threatened the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the guards responsible for keeping the militants locked away and preventing a feared ISIS resurgence. U.S. officials believed that if the prisons collapsed in the chaos, the consequences would have been immediate.

“If these 6,000 or so got out and returned to the battlefield, that would basically be the instant reconstitution of ISIS,” the senior intelligence official told Fox News Digital.

In an exclusive interview, the official walked Fox News Digital step by step through the behind-the-scenes operation that moved thousands of ISIS detainees out of Syria and into Iraqi custody, describing a multi-agency scramble that unfolded over weeks, with intelligence warnings, rapid diplomacy and a swift military lift.

US MILITARY LAUNCHES AIRSTRIKES AGAINST ISIS TARGETS IN SYRIA, OFFICIALS SAY

The risk, the official explained, had been building for months. In late October, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard began to assess that Syria’s transition could tip into disorder and create the conditions for a catastrophic jailbreak.

The ODNI sent representatives to Syria and Iraq at that time to begin early discussions with both the SDF and the Iraqi government about how to remove what the official repeatedly described as the most dangerous detainees before events overtook them.

Those fears sharpened in early January as fighting erupted in Aleppo and began spreading eastward. Time was running out to prevent catastrophe. “We saw this severe crisis situation,” the official said.

U.S. ANNOUNCES MORE MILITARY ACTIONS AGAINST ISIS: ‘WE WILL NOT RELENT’

According to the source, the ODNI oversaw daily coordination calls across agencies as the situation escalated. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was “managing the day to day” on policy considerations, while the ODNI drove a working group that kept CENTCOM, diplomats and intelligence officials aligned on the urgent question: how to keep nearly 6,000 ISIS fighters from slipping into the fog of war.

The Iraqi government, the official said, understood the stakes. Baghdad had its own reasons to move quickly, fearing that if thousands of detainees escaped, they would spill across the border and revive a threat Iraq still remembers in visceral terms.

The official described Iraq’s motivation bluntly: leaders recognized that a massive breakout could force Iraq back into a “2014 ISIS is on our border situation once more.”

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the official said, played a pivotal role in smoothing the diplomatic runway for what would become a major logistical undertaking.

Then came the physical lift. The official credited CENTCOM’s surge of resources to make the plan real on the ground, saying that “moving in helicopters” and other assets enabled detainees to be removed in a compressed timeframe.

“Thanks to the efforts… moving in helicopters, moving in more resources, and then just logistically making this happen, we were able to get these nearly 6,000 out in the course of just a few weeks,” the official said.

ISIS FIGHTERS STILL AT LARGE AFTER SYRIAN PRISON BREAK, CONTRIBUTING TO VOLATILE SECURITY SITUATION

The SDF, had been securing the prisons, but its attention was strained by fighting elsewhere, fueling U.S. fears that a single breach could spiral into a mass escape. Ultimately, detainees were transported into Iraq, where they are now held at a facility near Baghdad International Airport under Iraqi authority.

The next phase, the official said, is focused on identification and accountability. FBI teams are in Iraq enrolling detainees biometrically, while U.S. and Iraqi officials examine what intelligence can be declassified and used in prosecutions.

“What they were asking us for, basically, is giving them as much intelligence and information that we have on these individuals,” the official said. “So right now, the priority is on biometrically identifying these individuals.”

The State Department is also pushing countries of origin to take responsibility for their citizens held among the detainees.

State Department is doing outreach right now and encouraging all these different countries to come and pick up their fighters, Fox News has learned.

While the transfer focused strictly on ISIS fighters, the senior intelligence official said families held in camps such as al-Hol were not part of the operation, leaving a major unresolved security and humanitarian challenge.

ISIS EXPLOITING SYRIA’S CHAOS AS US STRIKES EXPOSE GROWING THREAT

The camps themselves were under separate arrangements, the official said, and responsibility shifted as control on the ground evolved. 

According to the official, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government reached an understanding that Damascus would take over the al-Hol camp, which holds thousands of ISIS-affiliated women and children.

“As you can see from social media, the al-Hol camp is pretty much being emptied out,” the official said, adding that it “appears the Syrian government has decided to let them go free,” a scenario the official described as deeply troubling for regional security. “That is very concerning.”

The fate of the families has long been viewed by counterterrorism officials as one of the most complicated, unresolved elements of the ISIS detention system. Many of the children have grown up in camps after ISIS lost territorial control, and some are now approaching fighting age, raising fears about future radicalization and recruitment.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

For now, the official said, intelligence agencies are closely tracking developments after a rapid operation that, in their view, prevented thousands of experienced ISIS militants from reentering the battlefield at once and potentially reigniting the group’s fighting force. 

“This is a rare good news story coming out of Syria,” the official concluded.

Investigative report reveals the Israeli UN mission coordinated with the convicted sex offender’s staff to secure a Manhattan residence.

The Israeli government installed security equipment and controlled access to a Manhattan apartment building managed by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to an investigation published by Drop Site News.

Based on a tranche of emails recently released by the United States Department of Justice, the report detailed how Israeli officials coordinated directly with Epstein’s staff starting in early 2016 to secure a residence at 301 East 66th Street. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak frequently used the apartment for extended stays.

While the property was technically owned by a company linked to Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, the disgraced financier essentially controlled it. The units in the building were frequently loaned to Epstein’s associates and used to house underage models, the report said.

Barak served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001. Under Israeli law, former prime ministers receive state-funded security after leaving office. The documents expose a direct operational relationship between Israel’s permanent mission to the United Nations and Epstein’s enterprise.

Rafi Shlomo, the former director of protective services at the Israeli mission and head of Barak’s security detail, personally controlled access to the apartment. Shlomo conducted background checks on Epstein’s employees and cleaning staff and held meetings with them to coordinate the installation of surveillance equipment.

Coordinated surveillance

The structural modifications carried out by the Israeli government required permission from Epstein.

In a January 2016 email exchange, Barak’s wife, Nili Priell, discussed the installation of alarms and surveillance tools with Epstein’s longtime assistant Lesley Groff. Priell noted the system included sensors on the windows and remote access capabilities.

“They can neutralize the system from far, before you need somebody to enter the appartment [sic],” Priell wrote. “The only thing to do is call Rafi from the consulate and let him know who and when is entering.”

Groff later confirmed to Barak and Priell that Epstein had personally authorised the physical alterations to the property, writing: “Jeffrey says he does not mind holes in the walls and this is all just fine!”

The correspondence between the Israeli mission and Epstein’s representatives continued regularly throughout 2016 and 2017 to manage access for maids and coordinate subsequent visits by Barak.

State ties and political fallout

After Epstein’s death in a New York jail in 2019 while he was awaiting a sex-trafficking trial, Barak tried to downplay his relationship with the financier, claiming that while they had met, Epstein never supported or paid him.

The political fallout from the relationship has been seized upon by Barak’s rivals in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently weaponised the newly released documents, arguing that the ties implicated Barak rather than Israel.

“Jeffrey Epstein’s unusual close relationship with Ehud Barak doesn’t suggest Epstein worked for Israel. It proves the opposite,” Netanyahu stated, accusing Barak of working with the “anti-Zionist radical left” to undermine Israel’s current government.

However, the emails released by the US Justice Department demonstrate that the entanglement extended beyond Barak to other active Israeli state officials.

Yoni Koren, a longtime aide to Barak who died in 2023, was also a frequent guest at the 66th Street apartment. Congressional investigations and leaked emails indicated Koren stayed at the Epstein-controlled residence multiple times, including in 2013 while he was serving as the bureau chief for the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Further records showed Koren continued to use the apartment while receiving medical treatment in New York until Epstein’s final arrest in 2019.

Intelligence and settler funding

The ties between Epstein and Israel have come into sharp focus since the release of millions of documents relating to the criminal investigations into Epstein. Beyond his interactions with members of the global elite, including Barak, the files document Epstein’s financial support for Israeli groups, including Friends of the Israeli army and the settler organisation the Jewish National Fund as well as his connections to the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.

Barak has expressed remorse over his ties to Epstein. Despite the financier pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, which resulted in a prison sentence, Barak maintained a close personal and business relationship with him. The former Israeli leader claimed he remained unaware of the full scope of Epstein’s crimes until a wider federal inquiry was opened in 2019.