“It now seems that the Islamic State considers this site as a burial and an important place of execution,” said Soufan. “Maybe they chose it because of its symbolic importance, and they probably reserve it for specific or high-level victims.”
Dabiq today is not entirely secure. There are still sleepy Islamic State cells in the region, according to officials from the new Syrian government who overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad at the end of last year. They ensure the security of the operation, which has so far been projected without incident. The new government, which is still under American sanctions, was born from an Islamic group which fought against the Islamic State.
This operation was only possible after Assad was overthrown. While in power, Dabiq was an active combat zone, which makes too dangerous to carry out the slow and methodical excavation work.
The hostage families know that the operation is underway.
“This mission is really one of the most important missions that everyone can do,” said Andre Khoury, vice-president of the Sufan group and former FBI special agent.

“We do this for families. We really want to make sure that families have an appropriate closure, that their loved ones are resting next to them. There is no better mission in the world than this mission,” he said.
“If we were lucky and we were able to do it during this trip, it would be fantastic. Otherwise, that does not mean that we stop. We will continue our mission. It was our commitment and our promise to families, and we will continue to do it until we can bring them home,” said Khoury.