Issue of ISIS mercenaries requires a radical solution to avert greater dangers in future

On November 6, 2024, the Internal Security Forces, Women's Protection Units, and Syrian Democratic Forces launched Operation "Enduring Security" to search the al-Hol camp and its surroundings in al-Jazira region, pursue the remnants of ISIS mercenaries and their collaborators in the camp, cleanse the rural areas of their crimes, and secure them. 

This operation came following information and confessions from ISIS mercenaries who were arrested during the previous period, which confirmed the return of ISIS mercenary cells' activity in the desert areas and their planning of attacks in al-Hol camp and its surroundings.

 The operation began from the city of al-Hol in four simultaneous directions:

the first towards the city of al-Hasakah, the second towards the city of al-Shaddadi and the town of al-Arisha, the third towards the city of Tal Brak, and the fourth towards the Iraqi border. 

The forces of the "Enduring Security" operation were able, within just two days, to comb through these areas covering more than 100 square kilometers, thus completing the first phase of the operation. 

In the second phase, the forces moved to the city of al-Hol and al-Hol camp, and began search and inspection operations there. 

The operation, which lasted for a full week, resulted in the arrest of 79 mercenaries from ISIS cells. The forces participating in the operation also found the body of a woman who had been tortured and then killed by women calling themselves the "morality police in the camp," based on the confessions of the arrested mercenaries.

Al-Hol Camp

Al-Hol Camp is located east of the city of al-Hasakah on the Syrian-Iraqi border, and it was originally established to accommodate Iraqi refugees in early 1991 during the Second Gulf War. It was reopened later after the influx of Iraqi migrants to Syria following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. 

ISIS occupied the camp at the beginning of the crisis in Syria, using the city of al-Hol as a transit point between Syria and Iraq. On November 15, 2015, the Syrian Democratic Forces liberated the city of al-Hol and its camp from ISIS mercenaries, and the camp was reopened to receive Syrian displaced persons fleeing the ravages of war between the Damascus government forces, Turkish occupation mercenaries, ISIS, and Jabhet al-Nusra. 

Following the geographical defeat of ISIS mercenaries in their last stronghold in the town of Baghouz in the Deir ez-Zor countryside on the Syrian-Iraqi border in March 2019, and the arrest of about 12,000 mercenaries who are currently in prisons in NE, Syria, the families of ISIS mercenaries were transferred to the camp, where the number of camp residents in the spring of 2019 reached about 74,000 people, including more than 50,000 from the families of ISIS mercenaries, both Syrians, Iraqis, and foreigners. 

Later, the evacuation of some Syrian and Iraqi families whose hands were not stained with the blood of Syrians and Iraqis from the camp began, to their regions in Syria and Iraq. Some foreign countries also worked on repatriating their citizens, including children and women of ISIS mercenaries, to their home countries. Many Syrian displaced persons returned to their areas after they were liberated from ISIS mercenaries, or left the camp to escape their crimes. 

Currently, the camp houses 11,257 families with a total of 39,899 individuals, including Syrians, Iraqis, and foreigners. There are also 422 Iraqis and 435 Syrians of unknown parentage in the camp.

Previous operations 

And this is not the first operation carried out in al-Hol camp due to the activity of ISIS cells within it. Dozens of murder cases have been recorded annually in the camp, where the killings specifically targeted men and women who oppose the ideology of ISIS mercenaries, as well as ISIS mercenary women who have changed their extremist views to integrate into society. 

Accordingly, the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Women's Protection Units, and the Internal Security Forces in the regions of North and East Syria launched the "Humanity and Security" campaign in al-Hol camp, aiming to arrest the mercenary cells, eliminate their extremist ideology, and ensure the safety of the camp's residents.

Phase One 2021 

The first phase of the "Humanity and Security" campaign launched on March 28, 2021, and continued until April 2. 125 mercenaries from ISIS sleeper cells were arrested, 20 of whom were cell leaders responsible for the assassinations that occurred in the camp. Military supplies were also found during the searches, in addition to electronic circuits used in making explosive devices.

Phase Two 2022

The forces launched the second phase of the "Humanity and Security" campaign on August 25, 2022, with the aim of pursuing the hidden cells of ISIS mercenaries and drying up the environment they exploit to carry out terrorist attacks against the camp's residents, humanitarian organizations operating within the camp, and the security forces responsible for protecting the camp and its inhabitants. 

The implementation of this phase came more than a year after the first phase, due to its postponement as a result of Turkish occupation attacks on NE, Syria. This delay caused an increase in the activity of ISIS mercenary cells, leading to more crimes in the camp and securing communication with the outside. 

In addition, ISIS mercenaries' women reestablished ISIS courts and the women's morality police to hold accountable those women who strayed from ISIS's extremist ideology. They also organized religious courses to train ISIS children in an attempt to revive what is called the "Cubs of the Caliphate" within the camp and prepare them as future mercenaries.

The campaign lasted

 for 24 days and resulted in tangible outcomes, including the arrest of 226 mercenaries, among them 36 extremist women who participated in murder and intimidation crimes, the discovery of 25 trenches and tunnels, as well as the seizure of large quantities of explosives, weapons, ammunition, and silencers. 

The campaign also succeeded in liberating two Yazidi girls from the grip of ISIS mercenaries, raising the number of liberated Yazidis to more than 200 over the past four years. 

In addition, the Women's Protection Units rescued 4 non-Yezidi women who were chained and subjected to brutal torture by ISIS militants.

Phase Three: 2024

The third phase of the "Humanity and Security" campaign was launched on January 27, 2024, and lasted for 10 days. The launch of this phase came as a result of intelligence information regarding the activity of sleeper ISIS mercenary cells in the camp and their attempts to exploit the military distractions caused by repelling Turkish occupation attacks and the multiple-loyalty sabotage cells that targeted the region during 2023. And the continued promotion of extremist ideology among children in the camp, and the attempts by ISIS cells to exploit the situation to create a new generation that carries the extremist ideology. 

The campaign aimed to dismantle these cells, dry up the sources of terrorism within the camp, and enhance security for its residents.

 During the campaign, the participating forces arrested 85 ISIS mercenaries and their collaborators, seized a quantity of weapons and military equipment, including explosive belts, and uncovered 5 tunnels used for hiding and storing weapons, which were destroyed. 

One of the most notable outcomes of this phase was the killing of the mercenary "Abu Sufyan al-Lahibi," the leader responsible for coordinating terrorist operations inside and outside the camp. The Women's Protection Units also succeeded in liberating the Yazidi captive Kovan Aido Kharto, who had been kidnapped 10 years earlier during the ISIS mercenaries' attack on her village in the Sinjar district.

Extremist ideology and brutal methods 

Since its emergence in 2013, ISIS mercenaries have shocked the entire world; not only due to the speed with which they occupied Syrian and Iraqi territories but also because of the brutal methods they implemented to impose their control, such as public executions, enslavement of women, and destruction of cultural and religious heritage. They relied on spreading their extremist ideology, which combines fundamentalist interpretations of Islamic law with unprecedented brutal terrorist tactics, exploiting a range of crises including poverty and sectarian and ethnic incitement in the region. 

And despite its geographical defeat in its last stronghold in the city of Baghouz in the Deir ez-Zor countryside in 2019 and the arrest of about 12,000 mercenaries who are currently in prisons in northern and eastern Syria and the transfer of the mercenaries' families to the al-Hol camp, the threat of ISIS mercenaries still persists for several reasons, the most prominent of which are: 

- The remnants have turned into sleeper cells: The remnants of ISIS fighters have turned into sleeper cells and small groups spread across different areas of Syria and Iraq, launching quick attacks and then hiding. 

- Turkish occupation attacks on the region: The Turkish occupying state continues to launch attacks on the regions of North and East Syria, leading to a security vacuum in these areas, which allows ISIS sleeper cells to remain and continue carrying out attacks and transferring weapons. 

- External support: ISIS mercenaries receive support from many international and regional powers, foremost among them the Turkish occupying state, which contributes to their continued existence and threat to the entire world. The lack of accountability for these countries in supporting ISIS mercenaries means that the issue of ISIS mercenaries remains unresolved. 

- The occupied Syrian areas have turned into a base for gathering, training, and exporting mercenaries: Over the past years, Turkey has occupied parts of northern Syria and transformed these areas into hubs for gathering remnants of ISIS mercenaries and harboring their leaders, who plan attacks on the regions of North and East Syria from there. The attack on the industrial prison on January 20, 2022, was a clear example of this.

- Al-Hol Camp and the Spread of Extremist Ideology: The presence of tens of thousands of women and children of ISIS mercenaries in al-Hol Camp makes the camp a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment. Where ISIS cells are spread throughout the camp, seeking to recruit new fighters through threats of murder, and ISIS women are training children there in extremist ideology, creating an entire generation of fighters who will pose a danger to the entire world.

 - Exploiting crises in the region: It is well known that ISIS mercenaries significantly exploit the ongoing crises in the region, including the Syrian crisis, and the lack of solutions on the horizon to ensure their continuation and survival, which makes them a direct threat to regional security. 

- International community's inaction: It is well known that there is international inaction in repatriating foreign mercenaries and their families from the camps in northern and eastern Syria, due to countries' fear of these individuals and considering them a threat to their security, as well as the impossibility of reintegrating them into societies. Therefore, they prefer to keep these threats away from their territories. They also do not assist the Autonomous Administration in establishing courts to try them, nor do they repatriate them to their countries for trial, which keeps the problem unresolved.

What does it mean not to resolve the issue of ISIS mercenaries and their families in the camps?

The operations carried out by security and military forces in al-Hol camp specifically contribute to reducing the threat of ISIS cells and their families to the camp residents, but they are not sufficient to fundamentally resolve the issue of detained ISIS fighters and their families in the camps. 

Therefore, the continued failure to resolve this issue contributes to the ongoing spread of extremism within the camps, especially among children who are being raised with ISIS ideology by the wives of the militants. 

The continued presence of ISIS mercenaries in prisons and their families in the camps also poses a constant threat to the stability and security of the region, contributing to the ongoing targeting of prisons and camps by mercenary cells to free these individuals from prisons and camps, which destabilizes the region. 

The continued failure to resolve this issue could lead to a deterioration of security conditions in light of the ongoing Turkish occupation attacks on the region and the silence of international powers regarding it. Consequently, any escape of mercenaries and their families to other places in the region will contribute, in one way or another, to threatening stability not only in the region but also at the regional and global levels.

The solution is essential for the future of the coming generations.

These challenges reinforce the ongoing threat posed by ISIS mercenaries in prisons and their families in camps to the region, and they warn of the return of ISIS mercenaries. Therefore, the international community must take responsibility for resolving this issue, which requires collective action from the international community, countries with nationals in prisons and camps, the autonomous administration, and relevant international organizations to find a permanent and comprehensive solution to this problem and address it at its roots so that future generations can live in safety.

T/ Satt.

ANHA