Syria
An image of the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG) during a security operation at al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava). File photo: AFP/YPG handout
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Security forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Wednesday launched a new security operation targeting suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members in and around al-Hol camp amid an uptick in the extremists’ activity.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), internal security forces (Asayish), and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) said in a joint statement from al-Hol that they launched “Operation Enduring Security” in response to “intensified” ISIS attacks in and near the camp.
Al-Hol camp holds around 40,000 people, including internally-displaced persons (IDPs) and foreigners, including many families of alleged ISIS members who have been detained by Rojava authorities.
The operation was prompted by a noted increase in ISIS activity in the region.
“These cells have carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the camp IDPs and security forces and planned other attacks that were thwarted and their operatives were captured,” read the statement.
In the operation, 16 suspected ISIS members have been detained, reported Hawar News Agency, a local outlet close to Rojava officials.
“The operation aims to pursue ISIS remnants and collaborators within the camp and secure the rural areas near the camp,” the joint statement added.
Siyamend Ali, head of the press office of the People’s Protection Units’s (YPG), announced in a post on X that the operation aims to prevent ISIS from using al-Hol as a base.
“This campaign aims to curb ISIS’s influence, prevent recruitment efforts, and secure the area for residents, reducing the risk of further violence and instability stemming from ISIS operatives who use the camp as a covert operational base,” he said.
The operation is being carried out with the support of the US-led global coalition against ISIS, the joint statement said. The SDF, composed predominantly of the YPG, YPJ, and other local forces, is the partnered ground force of the coalition.
On Tuesday, the US military announced that in the last two months - in cooperation with local partners in Iraq and Syria - operations have resulted in "163 terrorists killed and 33 captured, including over 30 senior and mid-level ISIS leaders.”
"Alongside our coalition and Iraqi partners, we will continue to aggressively pursue these terrorists and disrupt their capability to conduct operations against U.S. interests as well as those of our allies and partners," General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a post on X.
On Friday, the SDF announced that their forces conducted a security operation in al-Hol camp, "targeting an ISIS terrorist cell."
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.
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