Internal Security Forces are currently carrying out an operation against Islamic State cells in the area where IS' relatives stay in Camp Hol in north-eastern Syria. A brief clash broke out in section four of the camp on Monday night.

The IS jihadists used light weapons. The internal security forces managed to neutralize the IS cell and confiscate the weapons used. The operation of the security forces in the camp is ongoing.

Camp Hol

Camp Hol is about 40 kilometers east of the canton capital Hesekê in the Iraqi-Syrian border area and is the size of a city. It was built by UNHCR for Iraqi refugees in early 1991 during the Second Gulf War. After being temporarily closed, the camp was reopened in 2003 during the Iraq War.

Since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS territorial rule in March 2019, Camp Hol has been considered a ticking time bomb and an ISIS hotbed, as it is mainly used to house women and children who previously lived in ISIS-controlled areas.

Camp Hol is home to people from 50 different countries. Despite repeated requests from the Autonomous Government, only very few IS women and their children have been taken on by their countries of origin.

At least 127 murders in 2021

Violence in Camp Hol is mainly carried out by mercenaries who have set up their own structures - such as the "religious police" Hisba - and repeatedly commit atrocities against people who do not live up to IS standards.

In 2021 there were at least 127 murder cases in Hol. Most of the victims are Iraqi refugees or IS defectors.

The total population of the camp is currently around 56,000. More than half of the residents are internally displaced persons from Iraq, most of them children.