Syria reports ‘mass escape’ from detention camp holding ISIS-linked families amid reports thousands fled
An aerial view shows al-Hol camp in a desert region of Syria's Hasakah province
By Nadeen Ebrahim, Charbel Mallo, Eyad Kourdi, CNN
(CNN) — A “mass escape” took place last month from Syria’s al-Hol camp that holds ISIS-linked families following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces, Syrian TV reported, amid reports thousands of people may have fled.
Nureddin Baba, the interior ministry spokesperson, was cited as saying that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the camp without coordination with the Syrian government or the United States-led coalition against ISIS.
In January, the SDF said it withdrew from al-Hol camp due to “international indifference” to ISIS and “the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter.”
Baba said Syrian authorities “identified more than 100 breaches in the camp’s perimeter wall, which facilitated smuggling operations,” adding that the number of escapees needs verification.
An internal memo sent to the member states of the European Union raised security concerns that thousands of people – the majority of those living in the camp – may have escaped, Reuters reported and confirmed to CNN by an EU official.
The memo said the status of third-country nationals who had fled the camp at al-Hol “remained unclear.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that 15,000 to 20,000 people, including ISIS affiliates, are now at large in the country following the exodus from al-Hol camp, citing US intelligence agencies. CNN has not verified this number.
The United Nations says al-Hol camp holds more than 30,000 people.
Questions had emerged over the fate of thousands of Islamic State prisoners, and their families, in northeastern Syria after government forces last month seized swaths of territory long controlled by Kurdish forces who had been guarding the prisons.
At the time, detainees had previously also escaped from al-Shaddadi Prison, which the SDF said was holding “thousands” of ISIS prisoners.
The SDF had been Washington’s partner in Syria, but the US drawdown from the country in 2019 left the Kurdish group backed into a corner, particularly after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024 and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s rise to power. The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria had long relied on the SDF to guard ISIS prisons.
The SDF had accused the coalition of failing to intervene to halt the advance of government-allied forces.
About ISIS in Syria
ISIS emerged from the remnants of al-Qaeda in Iraq. At the height of its power, it controlled about a third of Syria, with Raqqa as its capital. In 2017, the SDF declared the “total liberation” of Raqqa, working with US-led coalition forces to reclaim territory from ISIS.
The group was largely defeated in 2019, but some elements still operate clandestinely in Syria and Iraq. When the Assad regime fell, several Middle East states and their Western allies warned that ISIS could exploit the chaos and orchestrate a comeback.
In November, Sharaa joined the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, and his forces continue to hunt down elements of the group.
Pressure has been mounting on Australia, the US, the UK and other countries to repatriate thousands of citizens, most of them women and children, who have been trapped in detention camps in Syria since the fall of the Caliphate more than five years ago.
CNN previously reported that more than half of the al-Hol camp’s population are children, the majority under 12 years old.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last week his country will not repatriate its citizens with links to Islamic State members. The comments followed reports that 34 Australian women and children were turned back by Syrian authorities after they had left the Al-Roj detention camp housing ISIS militants and their families.
Many governments have been reluctant to repatriate their citizens due to national security concerns and domestic opposition. The Al-Roj camp also houses Shamima Begum, the London schoolgirl who ran away at the age of 15 to join ISIS in 2015 and was subsequently stripped of her British citizenship.
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