LONDON: The UN and US have warned that Daesh is increasing its activities in Syria, raising fears that it could try to free thousands of fighters currently held in prison camps run by Syrian-Kurdish forces.
The US has sent troops to Syria in a bid to help stabilize the situation, nearly doubling the size of its presence in the country.
Up to 10,000 Daesh fighters, as well as 40,000 of their relatives, are incarcerated in the camps in northeast Syria.
“The crown jewel for the Islamic State (Daesh) is still the prisons and camps,” Colin Clarke, head of research for the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security firm, told the New York Times.
“That’s where the experienced, battle-hardened fighters are,” he said. “In addition to whatever muscle they add to the group, if those prisons are open, the pure propaganda value” would serve Daesh’s recruitment efforts for months, Clarke added.
It is thought that the recent upheaval caused by the collapse of the Assad regime has provided Daesh with an opportunity to expand its operations in Syria.
US intelligence experts fear that the group could now use this as a springboard to sow instability across the Middle East.
President Donald Trump, however, has voiced doubts about America’s need for a permanent military presence in Syria.
It was hoped that the successor government to the Assad regime would provide a dependable partner to the US, but the outbreak of sectarian violence in parts of Syria last month has raised concerns about how much control it has over the country.
Despite its defeat by 2020, Daesh, which at one point controlled a vast swathe of territory across Syria and Iraq, has continued to spread its propaganda, having shot to prominence for its violence and repression, as well as a series of terror attacks in Europe.
Last year, the group orchestrated high-profile attacks in Iran, Pakistan and Russia. A US Defense Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the NYT that Daesh claimed 294 attacks in 2024, up from 121 the year before.
The committee established by the UN to monitor Daesh said it believed around 400 attacks were committed by the group last year.
Prison breaks are not unprecedented. In 2022, nearly 400 people escaped after Daesh attacked a facility in Hasaka, which required US intervention to repel.
A recent UN report revealed that Daesh fighters had escaped from Syria’s largest prison camp, Al-Hol, during the fall of the Assad regime.
