The new operation is in response to an increase in ISIS activities in the camp where the terror group is “taking advantage of the dire humanitarian conditions and the preoccupation of our military and security forces in confronting the attacks of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries and the attacks of the Syrian regime-backed mercenaries,” read a statement announcing the start of the operation.
Rojava’s internal security forces and the United States-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the global coalition against ISIS, are carrying out the operation that is the third phase of Operation Humanity and Security.
“Pursuing ISIS terrorist cells, eliminating their strongholds, and capturing individuals and collaborators involved in terrorist activities, attacks and spreading extremist ideologies, especially among children” are the objectives of the campaign.
The first phase of the military campaign was launched in March 2021 and the second one in August 2022. Hundreds of ISIS suspects were detained in both phases.
Al-Hol camp houses 45,355 people, mostly women and children. Camp residents come from around the world, but the bulk are 21,633 Syrians and 17,022 Iraqis, according to the latest figures from the US-led global coalition against ISIS.
The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism, with authorities describing it as a “ticking time bomb.”
In late December, the SDF announced the killing of a senior ISIS official in the camp.
