1K+ Iraqis yet to return after Al-Hol closure
Shafaq News- Baghdad
About 1,200 Iraqis remain in Syria following the closure of Al-Hol camp, with some potentially facing terrorism-related cases, Deputy Minister of Migration and Displacement Karim Al-Nouri told Shafaq News on Wednesday.
Al-Nouri reported that 21,540 Iraqis had returned from the camp, which once housed more than 60,000 people of various nationalities, including over 22,000 Iraqis, most of them women and young people.
Of those repatriated, more than 15,000 have completed psychological rehabilitation at Al-Amal Center, a facility in Nineveh province that prepares returnees for reintegration into their communities, and returned to their home areas, with no security breaches recorded there following their reintegration. More than 4,000 others remain at the center.
Located north of Syria’s Al-Hasakah city, Al-Hol housed families linked to ISIS before Syrian authorities evacuated and permanently closed the camp on Feb. 22, 2026, transferring the remaining residents to camps in northern Aleppo province.
In April, Iraq stopped receiving Iraqi families linked to ISIS from Al-Hol. A security source told Shafaq News at the time that any future returns would require official coordination with Syrian authorities and a new agreement governing the transfer mechanism.
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