US to hand over to Iraq IS members evacuated from Syria

BAGHDAD — Two Iraqi intelligence officials say the U.S. is planning to hand over to Iraqi authorities dozens of members of the Islamic State group recently transferred from Syria.

The officials said the nearly 50 militants are expected to be handed over in the coming hours.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. They declined to provide details or say whether they included two British militants who were moved out of a detention centre in Syria and were now in U.S. custody, according to U.S. officials.

The two are believed to be part of an IS cell nicknamed “The Beatles” that beheaded foreign hostages in Syria.