US-backed Kurdish forces arrested almost 300 ISIS terrorists from the al-Hol camp in Syria in the ongoing operation aiming to recuse entrapped people in the camp.
Al-Hol camp is the largest refugee camp in Syria, which allows ISIS to brainwash and recruit vulnerable people into the extremist organization.
US Forces Dismantled the Whole ISIS Network
American Central Command (CENTCOM) sponsored a surveillance operation in Syria, which started on August 25.
Pro-American forces rescued six women who were chained and tortured by ISIS in the 24-day operation. One of those women was in ISIS custody since 2014 when she was detained at the age of nine.
CENTCOM played a decisive role in the operation by providing intelligence and surveillance technologies to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
On Sunday, CENTCOM released a statement, noting the SDF arrested 300 ISIS terrorists and captured almost 25 kg of explosives. Likewise, the SDF also confiscated 25 hand grenades and dismantled the logistics materials of the terrorist outfit.
According to CENTCOM’s commander, Michael Erik Kurilla, the al-Hol camp poses a severe international crisis, so the whole world should take serious measures to address this issue.
🔸Brigadier General Ali Al-Hassan: al-Hol Camp's dilemma is not domestic but international
🌍https://t.co/FPzQErv2iO pic.twitter.com/xrVXZGTZXJ— ANHA English (@enhawarnews) September 19, 2022
Kurilla visited the camp recently and stated the facility was an ideal place for promoting an extremist ideology to vulnerable people. Furthermore, CENTCOM continued, two SDF fighters were also killed during their engagement with ISIS operatives.
Reportedly, ISIS was operating concentration camps at al-Hol, Syria, where the extremist group used to kidnap people and brainwash them with their radical ideology.
Kurilla noted most of the residents of al-Hol camps wanted to escape, but they were kept forcefully, as it was part of the ISIS recruitment drive.
So, all the residents need to go back to their countries of origin after going through any necessary rehabilitation process, Kurilla added.
A Ray of Hope for Syrians
The current operation was the seventh time the SDF raided the al-Hol camp in collaboration with American forces this year.
Nearly every raid has resulted in the detention of some ISIS sympathizers from al-Hol camp, which is the home of almost 55,000 people.
Almost half of the al-Hol’s residents were originally from Iraq, while one-third of them were from within Syria.
On assignment for @lemondefr, William Keo documented the Al-Hol camp in Syria, where the influence and religious violence of the Islamic State persists.
Read the full story: https://t.co/v6J9cZV5be
© William Keo / Magnum Photos pic.twitter.com/qOrIByX9JK
— Magnum Photos (@MagnumPhotos) September 18, 2022
The Washington Post reported the al-Hol camp is the largest refugee camp in Syria, and more than half of the camp’s population is children. Reportedly, ISIS fighters have killed at least 44 residents of the camp.
While the previous operations were designed to capture and kill only a few ISIS operatives, this time, a full-scale counter-offensive strategy was engineered to completely dismantle the ISIS sympathizers from the refugee camps.
So, the SDF carried out detailed biometric inspections, pat-downs, interrogations, and physical searches of the camps to find explosive materials.
Col. Joe Buccino, CENTCOM’s spokesperson, stated al-Hol would now become a safer facility, which would allow residents to live peacefully.
