Suspected Islamic State attack in Al Hol camp in Syria kills Iraqi teen

An 18-year old Iraqi teenager was killed on Wednesday in a suspected attack by an Islamic State cell in the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.

The Coordination and Military Operations Center of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that the teenager was shot multiple times in the head, chest and stomach around 3 a.m. on Wednesday.

“This brutal killing is the 3rd this month linked to #Daesh,” the SDF said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

The security and safety situation in the crowded al-Hol camp has recently deteriorated.

According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at least 30 people have been killed in the camp since January. The international medical organization recently said one of its staff members was killed in their tent and three other people were injured in a fire, forcing the charity to suspend critical services.

In January, UN officials also expressed concern over the deteriorating security conditions at the camp, the largest in Syria for refugees and displaced people. According to the UN, there are about 62,000 people in the camp, including tens of thousands of women affiliated to ISIS and their children.

As a result of the vast numbers, it has been difficult for guards to prevent repeated violent incidents, including murders.

Local authorities decided in early October to expedite the departure of displaced Syrian families from al-Hol as part of a new program.

Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria have strongly and repeatedly urged foreign states to take back their nationals who have ties to ISIS, including women and children born to families who joined ISIS. A number of foreign states so far have brought back their citizens, mostly unaccompanied children.

Plans announced in the past to repatriate the thousands of displaced Iraqis now in al-Hol appear to have been either delayed or annulled outright by Iraqi authorities.

Source: Kurdistan 24