New York Times report warns of ISIS resurgence in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – A report by The New York Times warned on Wednesday of a dangerous resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, cautioning that this development could destabilize the region.
The report stressed that a renewed rise of ISIS would jeopardize a rare opportunity for Syria to transition beyond years of brutal dictatorship and could have far-reaching consequences across the Middle East.
On January 12, General Mazloum Abdi, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), stated that the threat of ISIS in detention centers and camps is growing, and noted an overall increase in the group’s activity.
The newspaper noted that ISIS had previously used Syrian territory as a base to launch attacks on neighboring countries and even in Europe.
According to official statistics from the camp administration, Hawl Camp hosts around 55,000 people, including 2,423 families of ISIS members from approximately 60 foreign countries.
Colin Clarke, head of research at The Soufan Group, a global security and intelligence firm, told the paper, “The crown jewel for the Islamic State (Daesh) is still the prisons and camps.”
“That’s where the experienced, battle-hardened fighters are,” Clarke added.
In March, senior U.S. intelligence officials presented their annual global threat assessment to Congress, concluding that ISIS is likely to try to exploit any collapse of the al-Assad government to free detainees and rebuild its capacity to plan and execute attacks.