US Senator Lindsey Graham warned Friday that further military action by Syria’s new government, backed by Turkey, against Kurdish forces in northern Syria could trigger a strong response from Washington, particularly if it affects the custody of thousands of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) prisoners held by the Kurds.
In a statement on X, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said he was increasingly concerned that Damascus was aligning with Turkey to use force against Syrian Kurdish groups, whom he described as Washington’s most reliable partner in the fight against ISIL.
As I have previously stated, I am growing increasingly concerned that the new Syrian government is aligning with Turkey to use military force against the Syrian Kurds, who are our strongest ally in the enduring defeat of ISIS in Syria.
They also have control of about 9,000 of…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 16, 2026
He said Kurdish-led forces currently guard around 9,000 ISIL detainees, whom he called “the worst of the worst” and said preventing their return to the battlefield was a vital US national security interest.
There are two camps in northeastern Syria, al-Hol and Roj, which hold thousands of alleged ISIL fighters and their family members. The camps are run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“If anyone believes that I or any of my colleagues would be comfortable — at this stage — for the ISIS prisoners to be guarded by the Syrian army or Turkey instead of the Kurds, you are sadly mistaken,” Graham said, urging Ankara and Damascus to “choose wisely.”
Graham said he supported giving Syria’s new government a chance but warned that an escalation of attacks on Kurdish forces by Syrian troops supported by Turkey would change the political dynamic in Washington. He said such a move would likely draw broad bipartisan opposition in the US Congress.
Syria’s Islamist-led government is seeking to extend its authority across the country following the ouster of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
But progress has stalled on folding the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration and forces into the central government despite a deal reached in March, and differences between the two sides have occasionally boiled over into fighting.
Graham’s remarks came as fighting intensified earlier this month in Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Aleppo, including Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, following clashes that erupted on January 6 between Syrian government forces and the SDF.
The SDF, backed by the United States, played a central role in defeating ISIL’s territorial control in Syria in 2019.
Turkey, which considers the SDF an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has backed Syria’s new authorities and has called on Kurdish forces to integrate into the Syrian state. Turkish officials have repeatedly said Syria’s security is inseparable from Turkey’s own, while Syrian Kurdish leaders warn that recent operations endanger civilians and risk reigniting a wider conflict.
Last year, the PKK announced an end to its long-running armed campaign against the Turkish state and began destroying its weapons, but Ankara has insisted that the move include armed Kurdish groups in Syria.