ISIS brides flee Syrian prison camp amid fears Shamima Begum could return to UK
The group that run the camp where brides escaped also control the camp where British-born ISIS bride Shamima Begum is being held
Wives of Islamic State fighters broke out of the al-Hol detention camp in eastern Syria on Tuesday after violent clashes forced Kurdish-led guards to abandon the site.
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The escape followed riots among detainees, many of whom are women married to ISIS members who have been jailed or killed.
Chaos erupted at the camp after the Syrian military launched an operation aimed at ending Kurdish control over parts of north-eastern Syria.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show dozens of women dressed in black burqas pouring out of the camp after tearing down perimeter fencing.
Al-Hol is overseen by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also controls several other detention centres holding more than 9,000 ISIS fighters and approximately 40,000 women and children linked to the terror group.
Among those facilities is the al-Roj camp, also in north-eastern Syria, where Shamima Begum is currently being detained.
The latest unrest has fuelled fears that she could be released or escape amid the breakdown in security.
Read more: Shamima Begum 'could be free in days' as fighting erupts in Syria
Ms Begum, now 26, was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London aged 15 to join ISIS in 2015.
She was discovered in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019, shortly after the collapse of the so-called caliphate, and her citizenship was revoked by then home secretary Sajid Javid on national security grounds, triggering a prolonged legal battle.
Earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights formally asked the Home Office to clarify whether the decision breached human rights or anti-trafficking laws, prompting renewed controversy.
The intervention sparked a political backlash in the UK, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pledging to defend the government’s original decision.
The unrest in north-eastern Syria comes amid heavy fighting between the SDF and forces loyal to Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Although both sides announced a new truce after the al-Hol camp was abandoned, the Kurdish-led group has reportedly lost most of its remaining territory following two weeks of clashes triggered by stalled negotiations to merge forces.
Security concerns have been further heightened by reports that at least 1,500 ISIS detainees escaped from the SDF-controlled Shaddadi prison camp on Monday.
Syria’s interior ministry accused the SDF of allowing the release of several ISIS prisoners, along with their wives and children.
The SDF confirmed that its guards withdrew from Shaddadi but did not confirm whether detainees managed to escape.