ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s top security advisor said on Saturday that closing the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria, which houses suspects with links to the Islamic State (ISIS), will enhance regional security, as Baghdad continues to encourage the international community to repatriate their nationals. 

“Iraq is making significant efforts, in cooperation with the international community, to close the al-Hol camp in Syria and encourage countries to repatriate their nationals,” Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said on X. “The dismantling and closure of al-Hol camp enhances international peace and security.” 

Baghdad has been leading the drive to close the camp as soon as possible. On Friday, Iraq held a conference on the repatriation of persons from the camp on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, with top Iraqi and UN officials calling on the international community to repatriate their nationals. 

“The camp is one of ISIS’s most prominent human resources, so its closure represents a devastating blow to the terrorist organization,” Araji asserted. 

Over the years, Iraq has repatriated 4,915 families, comprising 18,880 individuals from the camp, of which 3,407 families, comprising 12,557 individuals, have been returned to their hometowns, according to President Abdul Latif Rashid. 

On Saturday, Iraqi state media published the final statement of the al-Hol camp conference. It called for “comprehensive solutions that enhance service provision and access to support and education, and emphasized the importance of reducing the number of detainees by urgently repatriating nationals to their areas of origin.” 

Thousands of suspected ISIS members and their families are held at al-Hol and other camps in northeast Syria, often referred to as a “ticking time bomb” by Iraqi authorities.

Iraq aims to complete the repatriation of its nationals from the camp, which reportedly still holds over 13,000 Iraqis, by the end of 2025.