France returns 35 citizens from camp in Syria housing thousands linked to Islamic State extremists

PARIS (AP) — France has returned 35 people — 10 women and 25 minors — from a sprawling camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to Islamic State extremists.

Al-Hol Camp — named after a town near the Iraqi border — holds about 51,000 people, including many widows, wives and children of Islamic State fighters. Iraqis make up nearly half the population, but a sizeable minority are from outside the Middle East.

Part of the camp called the Annex holds around 8,000 women and children from 60 nationalities who are considered the most die-hard among the residents, and experts have warned for years that the camp’s wretched conditions and confined spaces risk creating another generation of Islamic State fighters.

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French citizens made up the largest European contingent of people who joined the Islamic State at the height of the extremist group’s reach. With its territorial defeat in 2019, France has brought home women and children in successive waves.

All 10 of the adults, women aged 23 to 40 years old, who returned and a 17-year-old girl were detained upon arrival or scheduled to go immediately before a judge Tuesday. The statement from the French anti-terrorism prosecutor said the other children would be taken into state custody.

There are also around 8,000 women and children from 60 other nationalities who live in a part of the camp known as the Annex. They are generally considered the most die-hard IS supporters among the camp residents.