Thread by @Charles_Lister

I’ve just returned from NE #Syria, where I visited the U.S. military’s RLZ base in Rumeilan, the al-Roj & al-Hol camps, as well as Ghuweiran Prison – all alongside @CENTCOM Commander Kurilla.

An incredibly insightful trip, with a lot of takeaways.

After arriving on a C-17 at RLZ -- the beating heart of the #Syria-based mission – I saw how U.S. troops operated multiple drone flights, collected & assessed ISR, monitored air traffic for hostile threats, and coordinated D-#ISIS operations across the northeast.

From Rmeilan, Arabic-speaking U.S. troops & civil-military teams are working closely with the #SDF, Asayish, tribal councils in #Iraq & #Syria and the Iraqi government to facilitate the return of 600+ Iraqis from prisons and camps every 4-6 weeks -- an absolutely vital effort.

We then flew to al-Roj in Black Hawks, where we spoke to #SDF & Asayish personnel responsible for securing the camp’s ~2,500 residents who came out of #ISIS areas. The camp had schools, newly built soccer fields, a market & hospital.

Compared to al-Hol, it was calm & relaxed.

We walked throughout al-Roj, speaking with residents – all women, most covered, a few not.

At the market, we met women from #Russia, #Uzbekistan, #Kyrgystan, #Kazakhstan, #Pakistan, #Bosnia & more. All asked about the state of repatriation processes with their home governments.

Al-Roj houses 21 Americans, one of whom, Huda Muthanna, ran to meet the US military visitors, along with her 5yr-old son.

Shaking hands with us, Muthanna said extremism remained rife within much of the camp & she feared for her security since renouncing #ISIS & its ideology.

Muthanna spoke in whispers when other women, fully covered, passed by.

Muthanna had her U.S. citizenship revoked in 2016, as her father had allegedly been a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in Virginia. After years of legal appeals, she & her son are now stuck in al-Roj.

From al-Roj, we flew to al-Hol – a sprawling camp home to 51,000 people, almost all of whom came out of #ISIS areas.

55% of the camp are children under 12, security is extremely tight & the #SDF now routinely patrol inside the camp with U.S.-provided Bearcat armored vehicles.

Months ago, the #SDF launched a weeks-long operation throughout al-Hol, to root out #ISIS operatives. 300 people (men & women) were captured; ~150 remain in detention.

Weeks ago, a major #ISIS suicide truck bomb plot led by a local ‘emir’ was thwarted in a nearby farm.

During that #SDF op, several “#ISIS schools” were found, along with photos & videos showing young kids being taught #ISIS’s ideology & calls for terrorism. #ISIS’ flag was everywhere.

Caches of weapons & explosives were seized & an #SDF team was ambushed with an RPG, killing 2.

With a U.S. Special Forces team, we briefly entered al-Hol’s secured gates & spoke to a number of Iraqi women and a few Iraqi teenage boys – they seemed friendly, but the air of tension was palpable.

#SDF guards have begun receiving #ISIS threats by phone in recent days.

Conditions in al-Hol were visibly dire, despite the best efforts of aid groups to assist, many amid ongoing threats & security challenges.

Repatriation is the only solution for al-Hol & while momentum has surged since 2022, the process is slow, with most cases taking 6-9 months.

From al-Hol, we drove to #Hasakeh, where we toured throughout Ghweiran Prison – made notorious by a major #ISIS attack in Jan ‘22 that sparked an 8-day battle that drew in US/UK SOF & left 500+ dead.

Scars from that battle were everywhere -- so too were added defenses (no pics).

Ghweiran Prison is the largest of 26 #SDF-run detention facilities holding 10,000 #ISIS prisoners in NE #Syria.

Ghweiran holds ~5,000 men, all of whom came out of al-Baghouz, #ISIS’s last territorial holdout in March 2019. They’re considered to be the worst of the worst.

Conditions in the prison are cramped, with 25 prisoners per cell. Viewed on CCTV, most were sedentary – they get little fresh air. Locally hired guards, all dressed in blue & all wearing NY Yankee caps didn’t seem thrilled by their jobs. Few had been in work longer than 5 months.

Ghweiran Prison’s security chief said an #ISIS attack plot had recently been foiled, involving operatives inside & outside the facility. One Iraqi ‘emir’ inside was mapping out the entire prison facility, using a bedsheet and ground chicken bones (pens & paper are banned).

While departing Ghweiran en route for the #SDF’s headquarters nearby, a U.S. medevac helicopter arrived carrying an #SDF member shot in an #ISIS attack just minutes earlier in Deir ez Zour – another reminder of the terror group’s ongoing, deadly insurgency.

With a light footprint, the US has played an invaluable role in degrading ISIS in northeast #Syria & those efforts continue apace. Multiple #ISIS senior commanders have been killed in recent months. Across the line in the regime-held desert meanwhile, #ISIS is on the offense.

But beyond the military fight, the biggest challenge is dealing with the 10,000 #ISIS men & 51,000 women & children held in prisons & camps across NE #Syria.

Local returns (to #Iraq & in #Syria) & foreign repatriation is vital – but inordinately complex & scale unprecedented.

According to @CENTCOM, 30,000 #ISIS male fighters are in detention now in #Syria & #Iraq – ‘an army in waiting,’ always vulnerable to prison breaks, particularly in #Syria.

Without repatriation, @CENTCOM now worries the 25,000 children in al-Hol are #ISIS’s “next generation.”

After seeing the whole scope of the problem, one thing is clear: the U.S. military presence in NE #Syria remains **critically** important – without it, we’ll be repeating our 2011 #Iraq withdrawal all over again. That saw #ISIS surge across borders like never before.