US Says 15,000 to 20,000 Escapees Remain at Large From Syrian ISIS Camp Exodus

This time last month, the Syrian military was sweeping through Kurdish territory in the country’s northeast Hasakeh Governorate, and having seized control of the al-Hawl prison camp, there were reports of thousands of ISIS-linked detainees being freed by the Islamist government’s forces.

The government downplayed this issue, blaming the escapes on Kurdish security weakness, and claimed to have recaptured them almost immediately. US intelligence assessments, however, suggest that wasn’t the case, and that 15,000 to as many as 20,000 escapees from Camp Hawl remain at large.

The camp was one of several that, after the defeat of ISIS, was being used as a more or less permanent holding facility for people with any ties for the former Caliphate. Massive numbers of non-fighters were being held on a permanent basis, including those suspected of being family members of ISIS figures.