Coming up through the cracks : the Islamic State's resurgence in Syria and Iraq

Abstract

The Islamic State’s attack, 20 January 2022, on al-Sina’a prison (al-Hasaka city) took both the international Coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces by surprise. The Islamic State remains, on the evidence of this raid, a centralised organisation, coordinating efficiently at the regional level. The Islamic State is seizing the opportunities for action left to it by various local military forces. It is still taking advantage of the tensions from counterinsurgency strategies led by Western countries. The success of the war on terror will depend on the capacity of the Coalition to manage the new political landscape that this war helped create in Syria and Iraq.