Hundreds of Isis prisoners have been released from jail in Syria, after Kurdish authorities holding them said that they had “no blood on their hands”.

Some 283 Syrians suspected of being Isis members were released by the Syrian Democratic Forces over the weekend as a gesture of “cooperation, fraternity and clemency,” the group said in a statement.

The move was reportedly negotiated with tribal leaders from northeast Syria, many of whom have played a key role in the fight against Isis as part of the joint Arab-Kurdish SDF.

“They had lost their way ... violated the traditions of the Syrian society and the law, and some of them had been deceived ... but they remain our Syrian children,” the statement said.

The group said those released were not involved in fighting, but may have held administrative positions within the group. The SDF did not reply to The Independent's request for comment.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

The SDF has said they are only days away from liberating the last Isis-held territory in Baghouz, in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province.

After a day and night of heavy fighting, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 150 Isis fighters had surrendered on Monday morning.

The release comes amid a debate over the fate of hundreds of Europeans who came to join Isis, and are also in SDF custody.

As the caliphate has shrunk over the past few months, thousands of Isis fighters and their families have fled the area and surrendered to the SDF, among them more than 800 European citizens.

The group is now calling for countries to take back the foreigners who came to Syria, saying it does not have the resources to hold them indefinitely. But the UK and most other European countries have so far refused to consider repatriating them, citing security fears.

One of them, Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old British woman who travelled to Syria to join the group in 2015, recently had her citizenship stripped by the home office. The home secretary, Sajid Javid, has previously said that he would move to block any British citizen suspected of joining Isis from returning.

An SDF fighter holds his position during an anti-Isis operation (AFP/Getty) (AFP)

But the release of the Syrian Isis prisoners appears to have been motivated by local concerns, and is unlikely to affect the detention of Europeans. It is also not the first time large numbers have been released.

“This happens a lot,” Hassan Hassan, director of non-state actors programme at the Center for Global Policy, told the Independent. “They say these guys didn’t really join because of the ideology and they didn’t kill anybody. But the concern is that future scenarios could lead some of those people to go back to Isis.”

Most of those being released are thought to be members of the powerful Sunni tribes from the Euphrates River area. When Isis took control of Deir ez-Zor, it used violence to coerce many tribal members into joining the organisation. But many took up arms against the group, and fought alongside Kurdish fighters as part of the SDF.

The SDF has presented itself as an alternative model of governance to the Syrian government, and controls roughly one third of the country. While the group is made up of mostly Kurdish fighters, its territory also covers Arab towns and cities. Managing that territory after the fall of Isis will require cooperation between Kurdish groups and the tribes of eastern Syria, according to Hassan.