The Wall Street Journal: 20,000 ISIS detainees held in Syrian camps escape

LootboxPhobia · 2026-02-20T17:59:27+00:00

U.S. intelligence agencies report that approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people are at large in Syria after a security collapse at the Al-Hol camp, leading to a mass escape of prisoners. Security experts warn that these individuals may have been radicalized, especially family members of ISIS members.

LootboxPhobia

2026-02-20 17:59:27

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Investing.com – According to The Wall Street Journal, knowledgeable U.S. officials have concluded that after a mass escape from the camp holding jihadist family members, there are currently 15,000 to 20,000 people (including ISIS affiliates) at large in Syria.

In recent weeks, the security system at the Al-Hol camp has collapsed. Previously, the Syrian government had defeated the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, who had been responsible for guarding the camp for many years. The breakdown of security has raised concerns that those detained behind barbed wire for years may have been radicalized.

Security experts have long warned that the wives of ISIS militants are nurturing the next generation of radicals within this large facility.

This camp, located in the eastern Syrian desert, once held over 70,000 people. In 2019, U.S.-supported forces destroyed the remnants of ISIS’s self-declared caliphate in Syria. According to a report released this week by the Pentagon Inspector General, more than 23,000 people remain at the camp as of the end of 2025.

After the Syrian government took control last month, the vast majority of people have left the Al-Hol camp. Western diplomats based in Damascus estimate that during earlier riots and escape attempts, over 20,000 people fled the camp within a few days.

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