ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of American troops in the Middle East, visited al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) where Kurdish-led forces are engaged in an intensified campaign against Islamic State (ISIS) cells, the army said on Friday. He reportedly also met with Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that the admiral visited Syria after meetings in Iraq.
"Adm. Cooper also traveled to Syria to meet with U.S. service members and visit the internally displaced persons camp in al Hol," read the statement.
“Thanks to great strides made by our partners, the combined population at al Hol and al Roj displaced persons camps has fallen below 30,000 for the first time,” the admiral was cited as saying in the statement. “Repatriation reduces opportunities for extremist influence, especially among vulnerable women and children.”
Al-Hol camp in Hasaka city has a population of 27,488 people (7,770 families), mainly women and children with alleged ties to ISIS. The number includes 15,233 Syrians (4,200 families), and 5,854 Iraqis (1,655 families). The rest are from numerous countries around the world, Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees all internally displaced persons and refugee camps in Rojava, told Rudaw English on Wednesday. Roj camp is smaller and is located in the same city.
Most of the people held in the camps were captured by the SDF and the US-led global coalition during the war to territorially defeat ISIS.
Al-Hol is infamous for its squalid conditions and has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Rojava security forces (Asayish) on Wednesday announced that they had thwarted a mass escape from the camp, arresting 56 people.
CENTCOM commanders often visit the camps during their visits to Rojava.
Cooper also met with Abdi, Hawar News Agency reported, saying that he reaffirmed Washington's support for the Kurdish-led force. The US army has not confirmed the meeting.
The SDF has recently carried out several operations against ISIS in al-Hol, citing a surge in the radical group's activities there. Their most recent operation was launched on Friday.
"This campaign aims to protect the residents of al-Hol Camp and to ensure the safe continuation of humanitarian organizations’ activities inside the camp," the general command of Rojava’s internal security forces said in a statement.
"In recent months, the camp has witnessed an increase in ISIS sleeper cell activities, with more than thirty attacks carried out against humanitarian workers. These attacks have led to the destruction of facilities and service infrastructures, placing the lives of thousands of civilians at risk and obstructing humanitarian and stabilization efforts," it added. "Our data indicates that ISIS continues to exploit the most vulnerable groups within the camp, attempting to spread its extremist ideology among teenagers and children with the assistance of affiliated women."
In a previous operation in the camp, the SDF captured 51 ISIS suspects and confiscated a significant number of weapons.
“Dangerous terrorist networks were dismantled, including cells that had been plotting attacks on Al-Sina’a Prison and Al-Hol Camp. The campaign has neutralized the immediate threat to civilians and regional stability,” the SDF said at the time.
Al-Sina’a prison, known locally as Ghweran, is a large complex that houses ISIS militants. An attempted prison break at the facility in January 2022 left at least 322 people dead.
