ISIS Women Accused of Killing Iraqi Refugee in al-Hol Camp

Women walk through al-Hol displacement camp in Hasakah province, Syria, April 1, 2019. (Reuters)
Women walk through al-Hol displacement camp in Hasakah province, Syria, April 1, 2019. (Reuters)
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ISIS Women Accused of Killing Iraqi Refugee in al-Hol Camp

Women walk through al-Hol displacement camp in Hasakah province, Syria, April 1, 2019. (Reuters)
Women walk through al-Hol displacement camp in Hasakah province, Syria, April 1, 2019. (Reuters)

Preliminary investigations revealed Thursday that ISIS women were involved in the killing of an Iraqi refugee in Syria’s al-Hol camp last week, a security official from the camp’s administration told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the refugee called “Hamada,” who worked as a civilian volunteer, received four gunshot wounds from a gun with a silencer.

“Early investigations reveal the involvement of armed women from ISIS,” he said.

On Aug. 13, al-Hol camp, located 45 km east of the city of al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria, witnessed an armed attack in the sector designated for Iraqi refugees. Three refugees were wounded.

He stressed that such incidents have been frequent in the past year, saying at least one refugee is murdered each month at the camp.

The camp is home to thousands of refugees, the majority of whom are Iraqi women and children.

Al-Hol also houses the families of ISIS members. The families make up the majority of the residents, who came to the camp after the group lost its territories in Iraq and Syria in the spring of 2019.

Iraqis make up some 40,000 of al-Hol’s 68,000 residents. The camp is home to women and children who have been abandoned by ISIS fathers, who headed to the battlefronts where they were either killed or captured. Little is known of the ISIS prisoners after the Baghdad government abandoned them.

Separately, the camp’s autonomous administration moved around 60 families of foreign nationals to al-Roj camp, located west of the city of Malikiya.



Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
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Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)

Syria's new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency (SANA) said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”

The opposition Syria TV said Shibani, formerly known as Zeid al-Attar, was in charge of foreign affairs when the Al-Nusra Front transformed into the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

Syrian media said that until 2024, he has been residing in Türkiye. Along with HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, he helped form the al-Nusra Front.

Shibani assumed several pseudonyms, including Nassim, Abu Aisha, Abu Ammar al-Shami and Hussam al-Shafei.

Born in 1987, he hails from the Hasakeh countryside. He was studying translation before his family moved to Damascus where he earned a degree in English Literature from Damascus University. He earned a master's degree in political science and foreign relations in Türkiye in 2022.

Syria's de facto ruler Sharaa has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the UN's Syria envoy and senior US diplomats.

Sharaa has signaled a willingness to engage diplomatically with international envoys, saying his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development. He has said he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

The United States, other Western powers and many Syrians were glad to see groups led by the HTS topple Assad.