The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) warned Saturday that it believes there is »an Islamic State Army» in prisons in Syria and Iraq, after a general visited jails and camps housing suspected jihadists.
»As I visited the detention center, I saw the threat posed by this group of detained Islamic State fighters. Among those detained in Syria and Iraq, this is a veritable ‘Islamic State Army in detention.’ If released, this group would pose a major threat regionally and beyond,» said U.S. General Michael Kurilla, head of CENTCOM.
The general said in a statement that he had visited in particular the Syrian detention center of Hasaka, where more than 5,000 members of the Islamic State are being held. He has also explained that the assault on the center in January 2022 in which thousands of fighters fled and 400 jihadists and 121 SDF soldiers were killed still has structural damage that he has been able to see firsthand.
SDF and detention center authorities have warned that the detained population may be subject to further radicalization to violence, warning that this situation could be »a ticking time bomb».
However, Kurilla has indicated that their goal is to »continue to detain them safely,» while working with the detainees’ countries of origin to repatriate them and find a procedural avenue to rehabilitate them.
On the other hand, he regretted the situation of minors in the displaced persons camps, as he has moved to Al Hol, which hosts more than 51,000 people, 90 percent of whom are women and vulnerable children, and Roj, where 2,500 people are being held, 96 percent of whom are women and children »relatives» of dead or captured jihadists.
»Al Hol camp is a hotbed of human suffering, and the only lasting solution is the timely and successful repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration of the camp residents in their countries and communities of origin,» he stressed.
Kurilla visited U.S. troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during this week, with whom he has met to brief on the threat posed by the jihadist organization.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
