Last week, five ISIS fighters escaped from Raqqah Detention Facility in northeastern Syria, triggering operations by US Central Command and the Syrian Democratic Forces that resulted in the recapture of two escapees and the capture of a facilitator who aided their escape. Days earlier, more than 200 US and Iraqi special forces launched a major raid in western Iraq, killing 14 ISIS operatives, possibly including a senior leader.
This recent fighting comes as an army of nearly 30,000 ISIS fighters are imprisoned in detention facilities across Iraq and Syria. Freeing imprisoned fighters remains one of ISIS’s main objectives, and US CENTCOM has warned that if enough detainees escaped, it would pose an “extreme danger” to the region. Additionally, over 65,000 ISIS-linked women and children are being held in separate camps across both countries, posing further security and humanitarian concerns. ISIS attacks this year are on pace to more than double the rate seen in Iraq and Syria in 2023, and as we mark the ten-year anniversary of the formation of the Global Coalition Against ISIS, how should we evaluate this US-led, multinational mission’s success? And is ISIS on track to reestablish its "Caliphate?"
Speakers
Michael K. Nagata
Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security, MEI
Charles Lister
Senior Fellow, Director of Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs