The men, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, had been among hundreds of suspected Isis figures being held in Kurdish-operated jails inside Syria.

After the US gave the green light for Turkey to controversially enter Syria and attack those Kurdish forces who had backed the west’s efforts against Isis, there were also concerns as to what would happen to the prisoners, including those of high value.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Mr Trump defended the decision to agree to allow Turkey’s military operation – which kicked off earlier in the day – claiming Turkey and Syria had been fighting each other “for centuries”.

Without naming them, he also said a number of important prisoners had been transferred out of that area.

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

“We are taking some of the most dangerous Isis fighters out and we’re putting them in different locations where it’s secure,” he said, while criticising European nations for not dealing with Isis suspects who were its citizens.

“We are taking them out and putting them in different locations, where it’s secure. We have a certain number of Isis fighters that are particularly bad, and we wanted to make sure that nothing happened with them in respect to getting out.”

Asked about the possible regrouping of Isis, he said: “The Kurds are watching, and if the Kurds don’t watch, Turkey will watch. They don’t want those people out anymore than we do.”

Asked if he was concerned about some Isis fighters escaping, Mr Trump said: “Well they’re going to be escaping to Europe. That’s where they want to go. They want to go back to their homes.”

It was subsequently reported by multiple US media outlets that Elsheikh and Kotey were among those removed and taken into US custody in Iraq. The Washington Post said up to 40 suspected Isis prisoners who were being held in a number of small prisons in northeast Syria that were overseen by Kurdish figures and US and UK special forces, had been removed.

US air force blow up an entire island to kill Isis fighters

The two men along with other British jihadis, allegedly made up the Isis cell nicknamed “The Beatles” by surviving captives because of their English accents. In 2014 and 2015, the militants held more than 20 Western hostages in Syria and tortured many of them.

It beheaded seven American, British and Japanese journalists and aid workers and a group of Syrian soldiers, boasting of the butchery in videos posted on social media.

Earlier this year, in an interview from the prison where they were being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), they denied being members of the group headed by the executioner “Jihadi John”.

Elsheikh and Kotey told the Associated Press they were the victims of “propaganda” and would not receive a fair trial.

Asked about the beheadings of hostages, Kotey claimed many fellow Isis fighters “would have disagreed” with the killings “in the grounds that there is probably more benefit in them being political prisoners”.

“As for my position, I didn’t see any benefit,” he added. “It was something that was regrettable.”

The plight of the two men has been a cause of intense debate in the UK. Lawyers for the men this summer argued before Britain’s Supreme Court that they should be tried there and not the US.

The demand, lodged by Elsheikh’s mother, Maha Elgizouli, was triggered by concerns they could be executed if tried and convicted in the US. Traditionally, the UK only extradites prisoners to the US if there is an agreement there is no chance of them facing the death penalty.

During his comments at the White House, Mr Trump said he had spoken with prime minister Boris Johnson at some length and that “they’ll be doing certain things for us”. There was no immediate response on Wednesday from Downing Street, the foreign office or lawyers for the men.

While reports said the two men are being held by the US military, the Post quoted an anonymous US official as saying the goal was to put them on trial in the US.

It said a prosecution in the US rested on the ability to obtain evidence from British authorities. This summer, the UK Supreme Court heard that Britain’s crown prosecution service believed there was sufficient evidence to charge Kotey with eight offences of hostage-taking and five of murder, and to prosecute Elsheikh for membership of a terrorist organisation.