Opinion

ISIS reappears with a massacre three years after the end of Caliphate

photo_camera prision-siria

Three years after the end of the Caliphate that Islamic terrorism maintained between Syria and Iraq, a cell made up of dozens of militants has attacked a prison in Gweiran in the province of Hasakeh, in northeastern Syria, with a provisional death toll of more than 150. The aim of the attack was to free jihadist prisoners held there.

The surprise attack began in the early hours of Thursday morning when a petrol tanker exploded at the gates of the compound. A hundred terrorists took advantage of the confusion to neutralise the guards and seize their weapons and keys to access the buildings. Six days later, the situation in the prison remains dramatic.  

The Gweiran prison, controlled by Kurdish forces, holds 3,500 terrorists - captured during the war - including 150 foreigners and 700 children, who are being held as human shields against the intervention of Syrian forces backed by US aircraft. The attackers managed to take over part of the prison and still hold a third of the facility and its occupants.

Many prisoners have managed to escape, which was the aim of the attack. The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) had been considered liquidated in 2019, a good part of its militants imprisoned and the rest scattered in other countries, especially in Africa, where they continue to proselytise and promote attacks that have already claimed thousands of victims. 

This attack on Hasakeh prison has raised international alarm, but the reality is that ISIS commandos still active in the area have been carrying out attacks in both Syria and Iraq for several months. The general impression is that the groups that remained in the territory are trying to free their comrades and take advantage of this to restore the Caliphate.