U.S. officials warned that the Islamic State group will continue to attempt prison breaks for recruitment and retention purposes, raising the importance of repatriating inmates.
Timothy Betts, the U.S special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, referred to the Hasakah prison break, which occurred in late January at the Syrian prison, as “a wake-up call” because it “demonstrated that the detention facilities were not as secure as we might have believed” during an event on Wednesday at the Middle East Institute.
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ISIS fighters in Syria launched a coordinated attack on the prison housing thousands of IS militants, women, and children, which led to a battle for control of the area that lasted for days before they were ultimately defeated.
“The detention facility [was] full of hardened fighters,” he said. “And so there, they are definitely capable people. But I don’t have with me who amongst them may have been the most senior. I am not aware of any significant ISIS figures that were amongst those that are no longer there.”
Betts, when asked to discuss what the attack indicated in terms of the group’s strength and capabilities, said ISIS “obviously still retain[s] the capability … an ability to pull it together and to amass a significant force to take on a significant objective.”
There are more than 10,000 ISIS fighters currently being held in various detention facilities across northeast Syria, which are “overpopulated, insecure, and guarded by a parterre force, the SDF, under significant pressure from multiple armed adversaries,” according to Dana Stroul, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, who also spoke at the MEI on Wednesday.
“There’s no question that ISIS seeks to replicate this attack again on other facilities and to recruit from and terrorize the vulnerable population as a whole,” she added.
The solution to prevent ISIS’s resurgence and continued prison breaks is through detainees’ countries of origin repatriating them, the Pentagon official continued.
“The most durable solution to the challenges of these detention centers and the displaced person camps is for countries of origin to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and, where appropriate, prosecute their nationals residing in northeast Syria,” she explained. “To this end, DOD supports the State Department in its efforts to provide logistical support to [countries] seeking to bring their nationals home.”
The U.S. fight against IS is active, with the former launching a drone strike on Monday that targeted and killed top IS leader Maher al Agal. Another ISIS fighter that he was with at the time of the strike was killed as well, according to Reuters.
Al Agal was “responsible for aggressively pursuing the development of ISIS networks outside of Iraq and Syria,” a statement from U.S. Central Command said.
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“This strike reaffirms CENTCOM’s steadfast commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said Col. Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesman. “The removal of these ISIS leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out global attacks. ISIS continues to represent a threat to the U.S. and partners in the region. CENTCOM maintains a sufficient and sustainable presence in the region and will continue to counter threats against regional security.”
Stroul declined to provide specific details about the strike that took out al Agal.
“We’re taking out ISIS leaders who demonstrate the capability to inspire, plan, or direct attacks beyond Iran and Syria,” she said. “We’re taking on ISIS members who have the expertise on fabricating [IEDs]. We’re taking out financiers, etc., so this is another step in that cycle.”
The United States also targeted Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a senior leader of Hurras al Din, in late June.
