Syria Kurds hunt ISIS members in sweep of Al-Hol camp

Syria (AFP):

Kurdish forces said Friday they had arrested dozens of suspects at a camp in Syria housing relatives of Islamic State group members.

Al-Hol is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after ISIS was dislodged from its last scrap of Syrian territory in 2019 by Kurdish-led forces backed by a US-led coalition.

It is still home to more than 56,000 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis but also including other foreigners linked to the Sunni Muslim extremists.

The camp located in northeastern Syria has grown increasingly volatile this year, with at least 26 people murdered, according to the United Nations.

The sweep launched on Thursday “aims to arrest IS operatives in the camp who are behind terrorist attacks”, said Siyemend Ali of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia.

So far at least 27 suspects had been detained, he said from Al-Hol.

“Our forces began to dismantle empty tents used by IS during attacks and started registering the names of residents… and collecting their fingerprints,” said Ali.

Kurdish security forces were heavily deployed in the camp on Friday, AFP correspondents said.

They mounted black armored vehicles and restricted the movement of people to carry out the operation, they added.

In a statement, the SDF called Al-Hol a “hot bed” for ISIS and its supporters, arguing it was a fertile ground for the group to gain new recruits.