Overview
- Syrian authorities confirmed mass escapes and accused the Kurdish-led SDF of leaving without coordination, while the SDF said it withdrew in response to attacks near the site.
- An AFP visit found the camp virtually deserted with empty tents and abandoned belongings that signaled a hasty departure.
- Before closure, Al-Hol housed about 23,500 people, including more than 6,000 foreign nationals from roughly 40 countries in a high-security annex.
- Remaining residents were moved to a new camp in Aleppo, and the SDF continues to detain relatives of suspected foreign jihadists at the smaller Roj camp.
- The United States has transferred more than 5,700 suspected ISIS detainees from Syrian prisons to Iraq as experts warn the unmonitored dispersal could bolster recruitment and sleeper networks.