Category: Syria

ISIS Bride Shamima Begum Was Trafficked for Sexual Exploitation, Immigration Appeal Tribunal Told

A young British woman who joined ISIS in Syria as a teenager—and is now appealing against the government stripping her of her UK citizenship—deserves special protection because she was trafficked for sexual exploitation, an immigration appeal tribunal has been told. Shamima Begum, who is now 23, left her home in east London when she was…


Record Number of Foreigners Repatriated From ISIS Camps in Syria This Year

QAMISHLI, Syria—Repatriations of foreign women and children affiliated to the ISIS terrorist group from detention camps in northeast Syria hit a record high in 2022, Kurdish authorities said on Tuesday. Thousands of foreigners including women and children had gone to Syria‮‮ ‬‬to live in ISIS’s so-called “caliphate” until 2019, when U.S.-backed Kurdish forces snatched the…


At Least 9 Dead After Russian Jets Hit Syria’s Rebel-Held Idlib, Rescuers Say

AMMAN—Russian jets bombed camps near Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians in a flare-up of attacks on the last opposition-held bastion, witnesses and rescuers said. War planes flying at high altitude, aided by Syrian army artillery, also dropped bombs on forests near the makeshift camps west of Idlib, witnesses…


Australian Women and Children Heading Home From Syria

Australian women and children held in Syria since the fall of the Islamic State have begun the journey home. Held in detention since 2019, four women and 13 children were taken from the al-Roj camp to Erbil in Iraq to begin their trip to Sydney. Earlier this month, the Albanese government confirmed a rescue plan…


Future Unclear for Syrian Refugees as Lebanese Repatriations Begin

ARSAL, Lebanon—Hundreds of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon on Wednesday, the first day of repatriations organized by Beirut, their mood more subdued than celebratory amid concerns over a scheme that rights groups say may involve elements of coercion. Lugging suitcases, power generators, fridges, and even chickens and mostly skirting around watching media, some 700…


BC Wife of ISIS Fighter Is Released on Bail, Pending Peace Bond Hearing

A British Columbia woman who was repatriated to Canada from a detention camp in Syria this week after marrying an ISIS fighter has been granted bail pending a peace bond hearing. Kimberly Polman will be released on recognizance and will be living in Chilliwack, 100 kilometres east of Vancouver, where she appeared in provincial court….


Quebec RCMP Say Canadian Woman Returning From Syria Faces Terrorism Charges

The RCMP say a Quebec woman returning from Syria will face terrorism charges. Oumaima Chouay faces four charges, including leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group, participation in the activity of a terrorist group, providing property or services for terrorism purposes and conspiracy to participate in the activity of a terrorist…


2 Canadian Women Repatriated From Syria Detention Camp for ISIS Detainees

Two Canadian women have been released from a camp in Syria that detains ISIS fighters and their families, according to media outlets. One is Kimberly Polman, who was arrested by Kurdish fighters during the fight against the ISIS terrorist group in 2019. She was detained in Roj camp in northeast Syria for her alleged association…


Cholera Outbreak Hits Syrian Refugees Sheltering in Camps in Lebanon

QUB ELIAS, Lebanon—Syrian refugees in displacement camps are falling victim to a cholera outbreak in Lebanon, already suffering from an economic meltdown that has slashed access to clean water and strained hospitals. Lebanon recorded its first cholera case in early October—signalling the return of the bacteria for the first time in 30 years. It now…


Researchers Unearth ‘Rare’ Roman Mosaic With Amazon Warriors and Neptune in Former Rebel Stronghold in Syria

Syrian researchers have uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era, describing it on Oct. 12 as the most important archaeological discovery since the country’s conflict began 11 years ago. Journalists were shown the mosaic in the central town of Rastan near Homs, Syria’s third-largest city. The mosaic, measuring around 1300…