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.
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.
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#Israel's intervention in #Suwayda has completely backfired, with #Jerusalem now signaling it wants #Syria's gov't to go back in to restore order amid huge tribal mobilization.
#Israel's approach to post-#Assad #Syria has never been strategic & the last week shows that palpably.
By intervening, #Israel (1) exacerbated #Suwayda's intra-#Druze divisions; (2) fueled (by 1,000x) Sunni Arab hostility to #Druze calls for decentralization; (3) triggered a nationwide tribal mobilization that's now advancing; & (4) placed #Druze civilians in far greater danger.
Let's get something very clear -- crimes/violations have been committed by all sides (gov't forces, tribes/Bedouin, #Druze militias).
There was never a "pure" side here & by stirring the pot, #Israel poured gallons of fuel onto the fire -- for crimes to simply intensify.
#Syria's SW province of #Suwayda has seen 5 days of chaotic, complex conflict now -- but as with previous bouts of hostilities in recent months, the information space has been plagued by disinformation, conflicting information & fast-changing developments.
What's happened, a 🧵:
Late on July 11, Bedouin gunmen ambushed a vegetable truck on the #Damascus-#Suwayda highway, beating the driver & stealing the truck & its contents.
The next day, #Druze gunmen kidnapped 8 Bedouins as retaliation, triggering Bedouin gunmen to kidnap 5 #Druze in response.
July 12 saw a flurry of tit-for-tat kidnappings, amid attempts by local notables to negotiate a calm-down.
Tensions & conflict between Bedouin clans & #Druze militia in #Suwayda dates back years -- tied to the drugs & weapons trade, control of smuggling routes & land ownership.
Last night, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed 25 people at the St Elias Church outside #Damascus on Sunday.
This is a group with a murky history -- a 🧵
Ansar al-Sunna first emerged in the public on Feb 1, 2025 -- claiming responsibility for massacring ~12 Alawites in #Hama several days earlier.
But the group was formed in June 2024 (~6months pre-#Assad's fall) in #Idlib by #HTS defectors & operatives aligned with Huras al-Din.
At least 3 Ansar al-Sunna operatives were detained by #HTS's General Security Service in October 2024 -- they were deemed to be an #ISIS sleeper cell.
GSS interrogations revealed communication with militants in Deir ez Zour.
What's happening in #Syria's #Druze-majority governorate of #Suwayda?
A 🧵:
Last night, almost all of #Suwayda's #Druze religious, civil & military leaders agreed a deal w. #Damascus to begin a gradual integration of #Syria's Interior Ministry, by folding #Druze militias into the "Public Security" force -- & later, more into the Defense Ministry.
This morning, that deal began moving -- with ~700 #Druze militiamen fast-tracked into a #Suwayda-specific Public Security force responsible for security in the (a) capital & (b) border areas. ~1,300 more men are in process to join too.
Amid hostilities in #Sahnaya, let's get one thing straight -- this is *not* a "gov't vs. Druze" conflict. By any means.
#Syria's Druze are extremely divided -- especially the clerics.
And more than any other actor, #Israel is preying on that division.
While some #Druze clerics (like Hijri) appear determined to hold hard against #Damascus, others (like Hinawi & Jarbou) seem determined to find a middle ground compromise.
Then there's Druze in #Israel (working with the IDF) & in #Lebanon (backing #Damascus).
The most powerful #Druze militias (Rijal al-Karama, Ahrar al-Jabal etc) -- HQ'd in #Suwayda -- have signed a framework security agreement with #Damascus & work jointly with the Interior Ministry. They worked together to end fighting in #Jaramana & same overnight in Sahnaya.
When it comes to reports of a US military withdrawal from #Syria, there are many moving parts in play, but it's clearly coming.
The US military's decisive shift in posture & priorities post-#Assad offered the clearest evidence. A 🧵:
Since #Assad fell in Dec 2024, the US military has established relations with #Damascus & proactively facilitated & pushed talks between the #SDF & #Syria's new gov't.
For CENTCOM: the #SDF *must* integrate into the new #Syria.
The March 10 framework agreement signed by #Syria President Ahmed al-Sharaa & #SDF leader Mazloum Abdi was a direct result of US mediation -- and from March 6, of *intense* pressure on the #SDF (by @CENTCOM's Gen Kurilla & @CJTFOIR's MG Leahy).