Asayish prevents smuggling attempt from Syria’s al-Hol camp
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria, also known as Asayish, on Tuesday, announced they have prevented an attempt to smuggle 56 members from ISIS families from the infamous Al Hol camp.
During the operation, a truck was seized on Tuesday afternoon with 56 members of ISIS families inside, including 39 children and 17 women, the Asayish said in an official statement.
One smuggler involved in the escape attempt was arrested.
According to the latest data, al-Hol currently hosts 55,000 people.
The camp is dominated by Iraqi and Syrian nationals, but the camp also hosts various foreign nationals.
Read More: 29,000 Iraqis still in Syria’s al-Hol Camp: Ministry
There have been continuous attempts by smugglers to smuggle out ISIS families.
Therefore, Syrian Kurdish officials have repeatedly called on foreign countries to repatriate their nationals.
Read More: Lack of IDs for children complicates repatriation of Iraqis from al-Hol: official
Iraq recently has also stepped up repatriation efforts of Iraqi nationals.
The US-led coalition against ISIS has also supported the repatriation and emptying of the al-Hol camp.
In an op-ed published in the Washington Post on July 21, the former commander of US Central Command, Joseph Votel, said that al-Hol threatens US national security.
He underlined the camp nurtures “instability, promoting violent rhetoric and indoctrination, and allowing those who harbor ill will against the United States and its allies to continue recruiting and radicalizing.”
“Resolving this problem would mitigate a long-term threat to U.S. security at home and in the region,” he concluded.
Nicholas Heras, Deputy Director of the Human Security Unit at New Lines Institute in Washington DC, told Kurdistan 24 that "Al-Hol is a major site for ISIS recruitment and indoctrination."
"There are still many people in the camp who continue to support ISIS. The big challenge is that many of them are local Syrians," he added.