Kurdish Forces Launch Massive Raids in Syria’s Al-Hol Camp

A photo from a previous security campaign at al-Hol camp in April 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo from a previous security campaign at al-Hol camp in April 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Kurdish Forces Launch Massive Raids in Syria’s Al-Hol Camp

A photo from a previous security campaign at al-Hol camp in April 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo from a previous security campaign at al-Hol camp in April 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Kurdish Internal Security Forces (Asayish) have arrested dozens of wanted persons and suspects at al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and counter-terrorism forces, in coordination with the international coalition, took part in the largest security crackdown on the camp since the beginning of the year.

A prominent security source from the camp administration said forces raided tents and found weapons, ammunition, tunnels and secret networks that were used by ISIS-loyal elements and sleeper cells.

He revealed that active ISIS-affiliated cells were preparing to launch a large-scale attack to control the camp, similar to the Jan. 20 bloody attack on Ghwayran prison (also known as Sina'a) in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakah.

According to the same source, the security forces confiscated explosive belts and military uniforms the attackers intended to wear as camouflage.

The campaign comes in light of the deteriorating security situation in areas bordering Iraq.

Earlier this month, unknown assailants carried out an armed attack at a checkpoint in the camp’s sixth division, killing an Asayish security guard and wounding another.

The attack came only 48 hours after violent armed clashes in the first division between ISIS loyalists and camp guards left two extremists dead and several others injured.

A member of the security forces and four Iraqi refugees, including a child and two women, were injured during the clashes.

Al-Hol holds internal refugees and families of ISIS militants who fled or surrendered during the dying days of the extremist group’s self-proclaimed "caliphate" in March 2019.

It shelters around 56,000 displaced people and refugees -- including from multiple nations -- and most of them younger than 18, according to latest United Nations figures.



Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis
TT

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Houthi militias in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, following several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeidah, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”

Netanyahu monitored the new strikes along with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthis' media outlet confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but gave no immediate details. The US military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Houthis designated as a terrorist organisation.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Wednesday.