US ambassador Tom Barrack says detained fighters exchanged in Syria

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said Friday that detained fighters were exchanged in Syria.

"With the valued assistance of the @ICRC, 25 government fighters and 61 Druze fighters were exchanged yesterday in a smooth and orderly process, Barrack, who is also the U.S. special envoy for Syria, posted on X on Friday, "Families reunited. A step away from vengeance, and a step toward stability.

"The United States was honored to help facilitate this effort. My sincere thanks to Representative @AbrahamHamadeh for his initiative, quiet persistence, and moral clarity in helping get this process started. Leadership matters, especially when it brings people home."

Barrack shared a post by the Syrian Arab News Agency, which said, "Syrian #InternalSecurity forces, in cooperation with the military police, begin transferring 61 detainees from the sons of #Suwayda Governorate to the Matuna checkpoint in the northern countryside of the governorate, in preparation for conducting an exchange operation that also includes the release of 25 prisoners held by what is called the 'National Guard,' under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation."