The Iraqi government has repatriated nearly 200 families affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) from al-Hol camp in northeast Syria’s Hasaka province, according to a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

On Tuesday, 176 Iraqi families, totaling approximately 634 individuals, were transferred from al-Hol camp to Iraq. This action is part of an agreement between the Iraqi government and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), aimed at the eventual removal of all Iraqi families from the camp.

Al-Hol camp has been home to around 40,000 ISIS-linked individuals, primarily Iraqis and Syrians, since the terror group's defeat in 2019. The camp is widely regarded as a breeding ground for terrorism, prompting ongoing international concern.

Iraq's National Security Advisor, Qasim al-Araji, highlighted in March that around 20,000 Iraqis under the age of 18 remain at al-Hol, describing them as "time bombs" due to their potential indoctrination by ISIS.

Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have repeatedly called on the international community to repatriate their nationals from the camps. However, these appeals have largely gone unanswered as many countries are reluctant to bring back their citizens over security concerns.

The repatriation efforts have faced opposition within Iraq, particularly from tribes unwilling to accept individuals associated with ISIS, which perpetrated severe human rights abuses and war crimes between 2014 and 2017.

Most repatriated individuals are initially resettled in al-Jada camp in Iraq's northern Nineveh province. Here, they undergo a reintegration process before being returned to their hometowns, aimed at easing their transition back into society.