In Syria, instability allowed ISIS fighters to flee camps, but many of their families still detained

In Syria, instability allowed ISIS fighters to flee camps, but many of their families still detained April 11, 20266:00 AM ET By  Jane Arraf Children ride a bicycle and play in the Roj camp in a Kurdish-held territory in northeast Syria in March. The detention camp houses wives and children of ISIS members. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption toggle caption Claire Harbage/NPR ROJ CAMP, Syria — This isolated detention camp doesn't look like it would be a legacy of the once-powerful militant group ISIS. Children play in the bare spaces between tattered tents. A boy kicks a soccer ball. A little girl covered head to toe in an all-enveloping cloak furiously peddles a bicycle. The camp is located in one of the last parts of Kurdish-held territory in Syria. For years, the issue of ISIS families has been an intractable problem. This January, it became a pressing danger as forces commanded by the new Syrian government advanced, leaving a security vacuum in parts of the region. Kurdish officials say it has sparked a resurgence of the ISIS militant group at the same time that U.S. forces have withdrawn. Sponsor Message With children making up the majority of camp residents, it is also a pressing humanitarian issue. About 60% of the roughly 2,300 camp residents are children, according to Save the Children. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption toggle caption Claire Harbage/NPR "I'm struggling a lot. I'm really scared for my situation, for my son's situation as well," says Hoda Muthana, one of three American women in the camp that authorities say are detained here. "I'm just very desperate to get out of here." Muthana, 31, was born in New Jersey, the daughter of a Yemeni diplomat. The U.S. government revoked her citizenship after she was detained in Syria, saying she should never have been issued the American passport she travelled on. In 2014, ISIS, one of the world's most violent militant groups, took over huge parts of Iraq and Syria. More than 50,000 foreigners flocked to the Is...