In the prisons of northeastern Syria, the Islamic State is still burning

Since the fall of the self-proclaimed caliphate, tens of thousands of suspected members of the jihadist group and their families are still languishing in camps and detention centers. Daesh is quietly strengthening itself there.

Daylight has just broken on Hassaké, a town of 200,000 inhabitants in northeastern Syria. Abou Dergham, 70, points to the thick walls of Gwayran prison, where at least 3,500 suspected members of the Islamic State remain in custody. Behind him, the front of his modest hardware store is riddled with bullet holes, he recallsa spectacular storm aimed at the nearby capital in January 2022. “When the world had already forgotten Daesh, sleeper cells attacked the prison, hundreds of fighters escaped, our city entered the war. ” he remembers.

The scars of ten days of conflict – which left half a thousand dead – are not only visible on the rugged walls of the area. Khaled Khalil, a 37-year-old former member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which was formed in 2015 to fight ISIS, has passed away with grief. His father and brother were murdered in the family home by ISIS members, dressed in Kurdish guard clothing stolen during their escape: “It all happened in five minutes, ISIS continues to haunt us.”

A sentiment that seems to be widely shared here. Especially from Hassaké and