Islamic State has shown renewed vigour in Syria, attracting fighters and increasing attacks, according to the United Nations and US officials, adding to the volatility of a country still reeling since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad.
The group is still nowhere near as strong as it was a decade ago, when it controlled eastern Syria and a large part of northern Iraq, but there is a risk, experts say, that Islamic State, also known as Isis, can find a way to free thousands of its hardened fighters who are held in prisons guarded by US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces.
A serious resurgence of Islamic State would undermine a rare moment when Syria seems to have a chance to move beyond a brutal dictatorship. But it could also reverberate more broadly, spreading instability through the Middle East. The extremist group once used Syria as a base to plan attacks on the country’s neighbours and in Europe.
Between 9,000 and 10,000 Islamic State fighters and about 40,000 of their family members are detained in northeastern Syria. Their escape would not only add to the group’s numbers but also provide a propaganda coup.
“The crown jewel for the Islamic State is still the prisons and camps,” said Colin Clarke, the head of r...
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