U.S. officials are raising alarms over the possibility of thousands of ISIS fighters escaping from detention centers in Syria due to ongoing Turkish-backed military operations. According to Politico, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are supported by the U.S., currently hold 9,000 ISIS militants and an additional 50,000 detainees in poorly secured facilities. These prisons, initially intended as temporary holding centers, are vulnerable to breaches as the SDF faces mounting pressure from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).
“I usually hate this cliche, but this is the closest thing we have to a ticking time bomb,” a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told Politico. “If Turkey doesn’t get these attacks on the [Syrian Democratic Forces] halted, we could have a massive jailbreak on our hands.”
Joseph Votel, a retired general who led U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019, expressed similar concerns. “This is essentially a terrorist army in detention,” Votel said. “I am very concerned.” The reluctance of many countries to repatriate their ISIS-affiliated citizens has compounded the problem, leaving the SDF responsible for maintaining security at the overcrowded and under-resourced detention facilities.
The Trump administration significantly weakened ISIS’s presence in the region during his term, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Despite these efforts, the current instability in northeastern Syria poses a significant threat of an ISIS resurgence. The SDF’s ability to manage the detainees is increasingly strained as it defends against Turkish-backed offensives.
The U.S. has brokered a temporary ceasefire in the northeastern city of Manbij, with SDF chief Mazloum Abdi seeking to extend the truce. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We continue to engage with the SDF, with Turkey about a path forward. We don’t want to see any party take advantage of the current unstable situation to advance their own narrow interests at the expense of the broader Syrian national interest.”
The situation is further complicated by the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamic terrorist group that has gained ground following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The volatile dynamics, including Russia’s diminishing influence, heighten the risk of widespread chaos should a mass breakout occur.
With approximately 900 U.S. troops still stationed in Syria, American officials are working to prevent a crisis that could see ISIS fighters returning to the battlefield. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act has been proposed to boost federal coordination, underscoring the urgency of dismantling organized networks that could exploit the situation.
