06/25/2019 Syria (International Christian Concern) – Thirteen Yazidi women held hostage by ISIS and residing in Syria’s famous al-Hol camp were rescued and have returned to Shingal this June. Following ISIS’s territorial defeat, captured militants’ and their families were taken to al-Hol camp. An estimated 50,000 reside there. It is unknown how many of this number are still held as captives of ISIS.

When ISIS began capturing large swaths of territory in 2014, the sexual enslavement of religious minority women became commonplace. Whereas most Christians in Iraq were able to flee, Yazidis were not, and nearly 3,000 Yazidi women remain missing.

Many questions and uncertainties remain about al-Hol camp. It is very difficult to discern who is ISIS and who are their captives. The number of potential hostages in al-Hol is unknown, but the recent rescue shows how relevant this problem is. There is a lack of certainty on how to address the large number of ISIS supporters living in the camp, causing some concern that they will have to be released or the situation will cause further radicalization.

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