Kurdish authorities in Syria have arrested an ISIS leader and confiscated phones and computers during a raid on extremist sleeper cells operating in the Al Hol refugee camp.
Abu Saad Al Iraqi, a wanted recruiter for the extremist group, was detained along with eight others during large scale operations at the camp aimed at thwarting its resurgence in Syria’s restive north-east.
More than 5,000 soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish militia responsible for the camp’s security, were deployed to Al Hol at the weekend.
At least 47 people have been murdered in the camp so far this year, in a marked deterioration of security at the site which houses the families of ISIS members.
SDF sources told The National that during the weekend sweep they uncovered more than 200 mobile phones, four military uniforms, a laptop, and five hard drives.
Local media also reported that an unfinished tunnel hidden beneath one of the tents in the camp had been discovered.
Some 1,700 people over the age of 15 also had their biometric data registered as authorities continue to survey the demographics of camp residents.
The makeshift encampment at Al Hol was filled with more than 60,000 people who poured out of Baghouz, the border town where ISIS made its last stand, in 2019.
Videos of the raid released by the SDF showed columns of heavily armed soldiers and armoured trucks rolling into the camp as the sun rose on Sunday.
The camp has seen a steady rise in violence in recent months, as Kurdish authorities plead with foreign governments to take back their nationals associated with the extremist group.
On a recent visit to Al Hol, camp authorities told The National that ISIS is active within the camp and that the group has smuggled weapons and mobile phones into the camp.
They warned that the group may be using the relative haven of Al Hol to plan escapes and attacks outside of Syria.
Much of the search took place in the local section of the camp, a larger part where more than 50,000 Syrians and Iraqis are held.
Security is tighter in the annex – the small section reserved for foreign ISIS fighters.
The Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) were also involved in the raid.
The US-led coalition against ISIS said it was providing its SDF partners with "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance" support, though SDF sources said that Americans were not present in the camp during the raid.
"The purpose of this SDF operation is to degrade and disrupt Daesh activities within the camp," coalition spokesperson Wayne Marotto told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for the extremist group.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
