Breaking into prisons and freeing militants: ISIS’s priority to return on the ground

Nora Bandari

Since the international coalition forces fighting ISIS were able to expel the terrorist organization from Iraq and Syria in 2019, the organization has been trying to return again, taking advantage of the security vacuum in some Arab countries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Sunday, June 18, that 25 prisoners of different nationalities, all of whom belong to ISIS, escaped from a prison in the countryside of Hasakah in northeastern Syria. This prison is affiliated with the so-called military police of the Turkmen factions under the Turkish army in the city Ras Al-Ain in northern Hasakah Governorate, and local sources reported that the terrorists are expected to head into Turkish territory through the border crossing in Ras Al-Ain.

It is worth noting that ISIS intensified its movements to break its members out of prisons a few days after the meeting of the Ministers of the International Coalition to Combat ISIS, which was held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on June 8, and during that meeting, the attendees stressed the need to eliminate ISIS. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also revealed that his country has allocated $148.7 million to help areas liberated from the terrorist organization improve their humanitarian conditions in both Syria and Iraq.

Rebuilding the organization

Hesham El-Naggar, a researcher specializing in the affairs of Islamist groups, explained that ISIS is currently focusing on storming prisons and freeing its members and prisoners in order to support its plan to rebuild the organization by strengthening its ranks with ready and trained elements who have previous experience. From time to time, a similar incident occurs that reflects a well-thought-out plan that was planned in stages, and the aim is to weaken the grip of the Kurdish forces on centers and prisons that house ISIS leaders and elements behind their walls, dismantling fortifications, and gaining experience through recurring attempts to free prisoners.

Naggar pointed out in a special statement to the Reference that the success of the terrorist organization once encourages it later and in a practical way to repeat the attempt again and again. In this context, ISIS has a perception based on the weakness of its recruitment, media and propaganda capabilities compared to the past, such that it is no longer able to recruit new elements. Therefore, it mainly relies on recovering its members and breaking them out of prisons.