Crisis looms in Syria camps, jails holding foreign nationals

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

ROJ CAMP, Syria (AP) — A deadly prison attack last month sharpened the focus on the tens of thousands of foreign nationals held in camps and detention centers in northeastern Syria — many of them affiliated with the Islamic State group. They’re overseen by the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who spearheaded the fight against IS. Authorities in the Kurdish-led self-administration say they’re a chief source of instability in the region. They came from around the world, drawn to IS’s so-called “caliphate,” often plucking their children from the safety of their own countries to join the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Their countries are still largely unwilling to repatriate them three years after IS was defeated in Syria.