Al-Hol (Al-Hawl) camp, east of Hasakah province, has returned to the forefront of Syria’s security landscape following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) personnel tasked with guarding it—a significant development that has opened the door to a new phase in managing one of the most dangerous issues linked to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Syrian official sources told The Media Line that the SDF abandoned its security duties inside the camp. The Syrian army’s operations command announced that the withdrawal led to the release of detainees, prompting swift official intervention.
In the wake of these developments, the Syrian government took over the administration of the Al-Hol camp, expressing its determination to restore security and prevent illegal activities. The move is part of broader efforts to impose state sovereignty and address one of the country’s most complex security and humanitarian challenges.
A Syrian government security source told The Media Line that units from the Syrian Ministry of Defense entered Al-Hol camp on Tuesday afternoon. The source said the SDF had been using the camp as a pressure card and exploiting it, but that the camp is now under the protection of Syrian security forces and the army, stressing that the situation is “fully under control.” The source requested anonymity for security reasons.
Al-Hol camp is located on the outskirts of Hasakah province in northeastern Syria, about 40 kilometers from the city center and just 13 kilometers from the Iraqi border. The camp consists of seven sections and covers approximately 3.1 square kilometers (approx. 1.9 miles), surrounded by a security fence that extends nearly 12.1 kilometers (approx. 7.52 miles).
The camp was established in 1991 to receive Iraqi refugees fleeing the Second Gulf War and was reopened after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In April 2016, the SDF reopened the camp to shelter thousands of displaced people fleeing areas formerly controlled by ISIS.
Al-Hol underwent sharp demographic changes in the late 2010s, as its population surged from 10,000 displaced persons at the beginning of 2019 to 74,000 by April of the same year. The majority were women and children, following successive defeats suffered by ISIS, the last of which was the battle of Baghuz Fawqani on Feb. 9, 2019.
At the beginning of 2025, the camp’s population declined significantly as dozens of Iraqi families returned home in phases under a repatriation plan coordinated by Baghdad in cooperation with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
According to figures through June 2025, the camp houses around 37,000 people from Syria and Iraq, including about 6,500 foreign nationals from 42 countries, among them Europeans and Asians.
Until Tuesday morning, Al-Hol camp was administratively affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, a civilian body established in 2014. The administration handled civil and humanitarian affairs, while the SDF was responsible for security and protection.
The Autonomous Administration also coordinated its work inside the camp with United Nations agencies, the Red Crescent, and nongovernmental organizations to provide basic services, monitor health and humanitarian conditions, and organize repatriation operations, particularly for Syrian and Iraqi families.
UN reports indicate that camp residents suffer from extremely dire humanitarian conditions due to severe overcrowding, weak infrastructure, and a lack of basic services.
The camp lacks adequate health care, safe drinking water, education, and security, while malnutrition and acute diarrhea are widespread among children.
In August 2020, five children under the age of 5 died within just four days due to preventable health complications, according to a report by UNICEF, which described the incident as a “tragedy from preventable causes.”
The camp has also witnessed recurring security tensions, particularly in the “foreigners’ section,” which houses widows and wives of ISIS fighters with their children under age 12. Their number is estimated at around 6,300.
Children remain vulnerable to ideological recruitment and deprivation of formal education, with many suffering from an identity crisis due to the absence of official documentation.
Experts believe Al-Hol camp represents one of the most dangerous security challenges in the region, citing repeated killings and cases of enforced disappearance as clear evidence of the threat posed by the camp amid attempts to spread extremist ideology within its confines.
In early May 2025, the SDF launched a security campaign inside the camp that, according to local reports, resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals, the dismantling of 15 sleeper cells, and the seizure of 10 weapons and explosive materials.
On June 25, 2025, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba announced that a cell originating from Al-Hol camp carried out a bombing at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus, killing 25 people and injuring dozens.
Investigations revealed that the suicide bomber and another operative who was arrested before carrying out a second attack had both come from Al-Hol camp through the Syrian desert, with support from an ISIS leader identified as Mohammad Abdul-Ilah al-Jumaili, known as “Abu Imad.”
In late May 2025, the Autonomous Administration announced it had reached an agreement with the Syrian government to evacuate Syrian citizens from Al-Hol camp under a “joint mechanism” approved during a tripartite meeting involving Damascus, the Autonomous Administration, and the International Coalition.
The agreement came as part of the Syrian government’s efforts to regain control over strategic areas and amid US pressure that considers resolving the files of camps and prisons a key condition for lifting sanctions on Syria.
As tensions escalated in early 2026, and amid accusations that the SDF violated the commitments of the March 10, 2025, agreement, the Syrian army launched a wide-scale military operation extending into the Jazira region and the vicinity of Al-Hol camp. This prompted the International Coalition to conduct negotiations aimed at transferring control of the camp to the Syrian government to ensure an orderly transition and prevent security risks or escape attempts.
A military source told The Media Line that SDF forces withdrew from the vicinity of the camp, while the SDF announced the outbreak of violent clashes with the Syrian army, accusing the international community of “inaction” in the face of the ISIS threat and justifying its withdrawal by citing growing security risks.