ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the arrest of an Islamic State (ISIS) commander on Thursday in Hasaka, accused of smuggling weapons into al-Hol camp. The SDF has recently cracked down on ISIS cells inside and outside the camp in northeast Syria.
The SDF tweeted they had arrested an ISIS cell commander “suspected of smuggling weapons to #AlHol Camp.”
The arrest was made based on intelligence information gathered during a recent security operation in al-Hol camp, the Kurdish-led force added.
Nearly 300 people have been arrested since late March after a spate of murders in the camp this year. In the past week, the SDF have made 15 arrests. They picked up two suspected ISIS members of ISIS, including a leader, near al-Hol on Wednesday and last Saturday arrested 13 people, including eight Iraqis, accused of smuggling people out of the camp.
Al-Hol houses an estimated 61,000 people from dozens of countries, the majority of whom are family members of suspected ISIS fighters. Kurdish authorities have struggled to maintain control over the sprawling camp, which has been described as a breeding ground for terrorism.
Insecurity in the camp and dozens of recent murders "reflect a persistent threat from ISIS and its criminal affiliates to innocent civilians in al-Hol, which places an increased burden on our local partners to maintain security within the camp," John Godfrey, acting US special envoy to the global coalition against ISIS, said late last month.
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