A video allegedly showing a large escape of IS‑affiliated detainees from al-Hol camp is circulating widely on multiple platforms in Arabicand English. The captions commonly claim: "Major prison revolt at al-Hol camp – ISIS families are currently trying to escape."

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DW Fact check: False The video is old and does not show recent events. Al-Hol is a notorious camp where the SDF has held thousands of relatives of suspected IS militants. One of the central concerns circulating online is the fear that IS militants could re-emerge as the camp changes hands. But a reverse image search shows this footage was circulating as early as September 2025, when the X account Rojava News published a longer version, including a Kurdish TV Channel 8 reporter visible on‑scene in the extended footage. Agence France-Presse and others reported that SDF authorities did thwart an attempted escape from al-Hol camp involving IS families in September 2025. We also compared stills from the viral video with available agency photographs and confirmed that the location shown is indeed al-Hol camp, but the footage does not depict recent events.

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ · January 23, 2026