PNN – The American newspaper “Wall Street Journal” reported that about 15,000 to 20,000 people, including a large number of ISIS terrorist group members, have fled the “Al-Hol” camp in Syria.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Wall Street Journal wrote: US intelligence believes that between 15,000 and 20,000 people, including a large number of ISIS members, have fled the al-Hol camp in Syria and are now scattered throughout the country.
The newspaper quoted American officials involved in the latest intelligence assessments as saying: Security at the camp has deteriorated in recent weeks after Syrian government forces drove out the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had been protecting the camp for years.
In this regard, the Financial Times newspaper had previously reported, citing its sources, that thousands of prisoners held in the al-Hol camp had managed to escape through gaps in the fence surrounding the camp and had scattered throughout Syria, with some of them having managed to illegally reach Iraq and Turkey.
The Financial Times added: It is not clear who helped the prisoners escape. Some point the finger of blame at Syrian government officials, while others say local tribesmen who work with the Islamic State terrorist group helped them escape.
The security forces of the Syrian interim government have taken control of the al-Hol camp in recent weeks, following an agreement between the Damascus government and the SDF.
This move is part of a broader deployment of Syrian security forces in areas of the north and east of the country that are under the control of the SDF.
At its peak, the al-Hol camp housed around 24,000 people, including around 15,000 Syrians and around 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 nationalities. Most of the countries of which these people were nationals refused to take them in.