Fears are intensifying over the security of the camps in northeast Syria (Image: Getty)
Spy chiefs are on red alert over fears terrorists could escape from prisons in and return to the UK, the Daily Express understands.
Intelligence analysts fear Syrian Democratic Forces will be dragged into more fights with the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and other rebel groups.
Thousands of former fighters and other jihadists are imprisoned in the autonomous northeast region of Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led group backed by the United States.
This is understood to include dozens of battle-hardened British jihadists.
sees the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which fought for decades inside Turkey in a bid to establish Kurdistan as an independent state.
The SYN has advanced on the SDF in northern Syria (Image: Getty)
Dame Angela Eagle told Times Radio that intelligence services are “keeping a very, very close eye” on the situation on the ground, and the UK is in touch with allies.
Asked about the prospect of jihadists who are British citizens returning to the UK, Dame Angela told the radio station: “Rest assured that the intelligence services are keeping a very close eye on what’s going on and we’re in contact with all of our allies to see how this pans out.”
She added: “Clearly any potential return of jihadists is a matter of great concern, which is why we’ll be keeping a very, very close eye on how this situation develops in the coming days and weeks.”
Coalition forces, including Britain and America, had “pinned back” the jihadists since the height of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014 when they controlled large proportions of territory in both countries.
The ISIS terrorists have also engaged with the Syrian Government and Russian forces.
But analysts are waiting to see whether the “vacuum” created by the toppling of will make it harder to fight terrorism, allowing the extremists to regroup, build strength, spread and commit more atrocities.
And many within Whitehall are concerned the Syrian Democratic Forces – a Kurdish-led coalition backed by the US – in North East Syria could be dragged into skirmishes, potentially allowing the jailed jihadis to overrun the remaining SDF guards.
Meanwhile the UK suspended all asylum claims from Syria in response to the weekend’s events.
Millions of Syrians fled the country after the outbreak of civil war and thousands were granted asylum in the UK, but the Home Office said decisions on applications would now be paused while the department reviews the situation.
Some 5,548 Syrians applied for asylum in the UK in the year to September 2024 – the highest number for any 12-month period since records began in 2001.
Dame Angela said that the “fluid” nature of events means that officials need to “wait” before any decision would be made to resume considering applications.
When asked why cases had been suspended, she told Times Radio that “one of the main reasons why people were fleeing and claiming asylum was to get away from the Assad regime”.
She added: “Because things are so fluid, we need to wait a little bit before we try to recommence asylum decisions in a territory where things are changing so rapidly.”