Asayish reveal toll of anti-ISIS security campaign in Hawl Camp
HAWL, Syria (North Press) – Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) revealed on Thursday the toll of the first week of its ongoing Operation “Humanity and Security” in Hawl Camp, northeast Syria.
This is the second phase of the operation, which aims at pursuing sleeper cells of the Islamic State (ISIS) and their activities in the camp. The security campaign is conducted with the support of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
In a statement to the public opinion, the Asayish said that “more than 50% of the camp has been combed.”
The Asayish added that 121 suspects have been arrested on charges of affiliation with ISIS, including 15 women.
The Asayish stated that 16 tunnels and trenches have been found, which were used by the organization’s sleeper cells to hide or flee the camp, as well as a lot of digging equipment.
The statement said that 119 tents have been removed, adding that these tents were used as torturing facilities, Sharia courts, and centers to receive ideological lessons.
Forty-eight cellphones, smart tablets, a laptop and two hard disks were seized, the Asayish said, adding that these devices were used as communication tools between the terrorist group’s sleeper cells.
The Asayish also found ammunition for the M-16 rifle and a military uniform bearing military insignia of the Turkish army, with a Turkish flag on them, according to the statement.
Preliminary investigation with most of the detainees, according to the statement, revealed close connection and direct coordination between the sleeper cells inside and outside the camp. Most of the latter reside in the Turkish-occupied areas, the Syrian Badia (desert) and areas near the Iraqi-Syrian border, continued the statement.
Everything we found from the torture and killing devises to the tents that were used for trying and brutally killing the camp residents, “confirm these cells’ persistence to continue ISIS’s criminal ideology,” the Asayish said.