By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2025-06-10

The United States is working with regional governments and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to resolve the issue of fighters and families of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) who are still being held in Syria.

These efforts are focusing on al-Hol camp in al-Hasakeh province, which is administered by the SDF, officials familiar with the situation told Al-Fassel.

The United States is trying to resolve the al-Hol issue through its strong political and diplomatic relations with countries in the region, particularly Iraq, SDF officer Farhad Khoja told Al-Fassel.

Most al-Hol residents hail from Syria and Iraq, he said, noting that the Iraqi government has been steadily repatriating thousands of Iraqi families.

More than 13,000 returnees from al-Hol are being housed at al-Jadaa camp in Iraq's Ninawa province, Khoja said, and coordination is under way to transfer al-Hol's remaining Iraqi population.

Efforts are also under way to secure guarantees that will enable ISIS detainees from Syrian tribes to reintegrate into their communities.

The families of ISIS fighters interned in al-Hol "are caught in a vicious cycle, living under the illusion of reviving the group," Khoja said.

But the truth is that after its defeat, ISIS completely abandoned its followers, he added, leaving them to languish as prisoners in al-Hol and other camps established in Syria overseen by the SDF.

Khoja said those who are released from al-Hol "require close psychological and social care to reintegrate them into their communities and remove terrorist ideas from their minds, so that they are not exploited again by ISIS."

Obstacles remain

"Despite the significant progress made in closing the camp, some obstacles stand in the way of a complete resolution," Roshan Kobani of the SDF's Women's Protection Units (YPJ) told Al-Fassel.

These include the revocation of citizenship by some countries of their citizens who are affiliated with ISIS, and their refusal to allow them to return, as well as cases where family members hold different nationalities, she said.

"This dilemma is prevalent between Iraq and Syria, and joint security committees are working to overcome it and find the necessary solution," she said.

It is also important to find an appropriate solution for those proven to be involved in the group's crimes, "as many of them have infiltrated families and are making attempts to recruit youth or raise funds," Kobani added.

Some ISIS elements have been arrested, she said, pointing to the recent apprehension of Iraqi national Saleh Ali Salman Ali during a joint operation between the international coalition and SDF.