Iraq Starts Repatriating ISIS Families from Al-Hol

A general view of al-Hol camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria. (Reuters)
A general view of al-Hol camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria. (Reuters)
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Iraq Starts Repatriating ISIS Families from Al-Hol

A general view of al-Hol camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria. (Reuters)
A general view of al-Hol camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria. (Reuters)

Iraqi MP Sherwan Aldubardany said that a number of ISIS families from Al-Hol camp arrived in Mosul, northern Iraq, amid mounting concerns that some ISIS family members could be a “time bomb" that jeopardizes the country’s security.

In his statements on Wednesday, Aldubardany said that secured buses were sent by the Ministry of Migration and Displaced to transfer the families to the south of Mosul through Sinjar.

For his part, Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Jabouri described transferring the ISIS family members from Syria to Iraq as a “disaster”.

Jabouri told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that this move is a time bomb, reiterating previous warnings of the dangers of this decision.

Available data shows that up to 100 families will arrive in Iraq, out of 30,000 Iraqi persons present in the camp.

The camp hosts various nationalities, including Iraqis from several provinces such as Nineveh, Anbar, Babel, Kirkuk, Salaheddine, and Diyala.

In the same context, strategic expert, Dr. Moataz Mohieddin told Asharq Al-Awsat that the camp has tens of thousands of displaced. A great number of them are Iraqi women and children, he stressed.

There are up to 40,000 Iraqis and around 10,000 families from different origins in the camp who live amid an poor security and lack of international supervision.



UN Official Says Israel Strikes Lebanon-Syria Border Crossing

 People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Official Says Israel Strikes Lebanon-Syria Border Crossing

 People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said an Israeli air strike hit "humanitarian structures" Saturday at a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria that was previously hit last month.

The crossing, known as Jousieh on the Syrian side, became a key escape route for those fleeing the Israel-Hezbollah war after the main border crossing between the two countries was hit.

But it was put out of service late last month when an Israeli strike created a large crater that blocked vehicle traffic.

"A new Israeli air strike hit the border post of Jousieh, where many Lebanese and Syrians cross from Lebanon to Syria," Grandi said on social media platform X.

"Humanitarian structures were also struck," he said, adding that "even fleeing and taking care of those who flee are becoming difficult and dangerous as the war continues to spread."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said two Israeli strikes hit the Jousieh crossing on Saturday.

The raid came after the main crossing between Beirut and Damascus, known as Masnaa on the Lebanese side, was forced to close by an Israel strike on October 4.

There are six official crossings between Lebanon and Syria, although there are many unofficial routes across the porous border.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of transporting weapons to Lebanon from Syria through the crossings.