ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Thursday said they arrested at least 40 suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members and killed one in a fresh operation in the notorious al-Hol camp. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), internal security forces (Asayish), and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) on Wednesday launched “Operation Enduring Security” in and around al-Hol in response to intensified ISIS attacks in the area. “The operation forces conducted raids on several houses used as shelters by ISIS elements, engaging in clashes with two terrorist cells that opened fire. As a result, one terrorist was eliminated, and another was wounded during these clashes,” the SDF said in a statement. “The operation forces captured 40 ISIS terrorist cells during the operation and seized a quantity of weapons and ammunition,” it added, with the operation extending to the Syria-Iraq border. Al-Hol camp is located in Hasaka province and has infamously been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Authorities have described the sprawling facility as a “ticking time bomb,” saying the situation in the camp is “very dangerous.” Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have repeatedly called on the international community to repatriate their nationals from al-Hol, but their calls have largely gone unanswered as most countries are unwilling to bring back their citizens due to security concerns. The SDF, who control northeast Syria, fought the lion’s share of the battle against ISIS and arrested thousands of the group’s fighters along with their wives and children when they crushed ISIS territorially and took the group’s last stronghold in Syria in 2019. ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.” While the group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 and 2019, respectively, it still continues to pose serious security risks through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions.
