SHADDADI – The Iraqi government for the first time is expected to bring home about 100 Iraqi families from a sprawling camp in Syria next week, a move that U.S.
officials see as a hopeful sign in a long-frustrated effort to repatriate thousands from the camp, known as a breeding ground for young insurgents.
On an unannounced visit to Syria on Friday, the top U.S. general for the Middle East, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, expressed optimism that the transfer from the al-Hol camp will happen.
He has repeatedly warned that the youth in the camps are being radicalized and will become the next generation of dangerous militants. “It would be the first step in many such repatriations, and I think that’s going to be the key to bringing down the