Security forces arrest suspect allegedly planning suicide attack in al-Hol

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The security forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) arrested a suspect allegedly planning a suicide attack in the notorious al-Hol camp, a conflict monitor reported on Monday.

The forces arrested “a person attempting to blow themselves up” in the camp, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. 

The conflict monitor did not disclose the name, age or gender of the suspect.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested thousands of ISIS fighters and their wives and children when they took control of the group’s last stronghold in Syria in March 2019. Most of these people are held at al-Hol, which is home to around 56,000 people – mostly women and children of different nationalities. 

Al-Hol has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism, with human rights groups warning of squalid conditions at the camp.

Two children died and three people were injured after a fire tore through the camp earlier in the month, said SOHR.

The SDF and Asayish launched a security operation on March 19, arresting several ISIS-affiliates of different nationalities at the camp. 

There have been repeated calls from Kurdish and US officials asking the international community to repatriate their nationals from al-Hol, but only a few countries have responded positively as they are worried about security concerns.

Save the Children on Wednesday said tens of thousands of Iraqi children and minors from around 60 countries could stay stuck in Rojava if governments do not step up their repatriation efforts. 

"It will take 30 years before foreign children stuck in unsafe camps in North East Syria can return home if repatriations continue at the current rate," it said.