ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government recently repatriated some 700 nationals linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) from the Kurdish-held al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava), a spokesperson told Rudaw on Wednesday.
“The returned persons comprise 168 families, or 681 individuals,” said Ali Abbas, the spokesperson for Iraq’s migration and displaced ministry.
The repatriation took place on Saturday, marking Iraq’s 24th batch of nationals from the notorious camp.
However, the Iraqi government has not yet disclosed the total number of individuals returned from al-Hol, nor the exact figure of Iraqi nationals still residing there.
Abbas estimates that around 16,000 Iraqis remain in the camp, while Saad al-Jayashi, an advisor at the Iraqi National Security Advisory, told Rudaw late last month that the number is more than 14,000.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 ISIS-linked individuals being held at the camp, which has been branded as a breeding ground for terrorism.
The repatriation of ISIS affiliates has long been a contentious issue in Iraq given the heinous human rights violations and war crimes the group committed following its 2014 seizure of large swaths of territory in Iraq’s north and west.
While some tribes and communities have expressed willingness to integrate individuals linked to the group, others argue that reintegration should be limited to families of ISIS members, particularly those who were not directly involved in severe crimes.
Hastyar Qadir contributed to this article.
