Summary
Highlights
In March 2019, Kurdish forces besieged Baghouz, the last stronghold of ISIS. Thousands of ISIS members, including women and children, surrendered, leading to 27,000 people becoming prisoners. Many of the radicalized women refused to admit defeat. Among them was Dorothy Muer, wife of Jean-Michel Clain, whose brothers were responsible for the 2015 Paris attacks. The fall of Baghouz marked the end of the Islamic State's caliphate, an empire that spanned five years across Syria and Iraq. The men were sent to prisons, and women and children to camps, including the Al-Hawl camp. The Kurdish forces captured 10,000 prisoners, with 2,000 being foreigners, but many countries refused to repatriate them.
The university in Hasakeh was transformed into Gweiran Prison, holding 4,800 jihadists in dire conditions. A year prior, on January 20, 2022, ISIS sleeper cells attacked the prison, trying to free inmates. The prison became a war zone for ten days, with 200 jihadists and hundreds of freed prisoners fighting the Kurdish forces. Although the Kurds eventually retook the prison, losing 120 fighters, an unknown number of prisoners escaped, demonstrating that ISIS is still a potent threat.
ISIS has never admitted defeat and continues to rebuild its forces globally, with affiliates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, Egypt, the Sahel, Somalia, and Mozambique. The UN estimates 10,000 fighters in the desert between Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi army and Kurdish forces continue tracking ISIS members, with some operations involving targeted bombings and ground searches to destroy desert camps and prevent further attacks. The Iraqi army faces ongoing guerrilla warfare, exemplified by a suicide bomber incident near a camp.
The Al-Hawl camp in Syrian Kurdistan houses 72,000 wives and children of jihadists in inhumane conditions. This environment is an ideal breeding ground for ISIS’s resurgence. Kurdish forces, abandoned by the international coalition, struggle to manage the camp, which has been found to contain ISIS weaponry. A second camp, Roj, also holds 3,000 women and children, including French citizens like Margot Dub and Sana. Many children born in these camps live without schooling and are exposed to radical ideologies from their mothers. France, unlike other European nations, has been slow to repatriate its citizens, despite an initial plan after Baghouz's fall.
Iraq continues to grapple with the aftermath of ISIS's reign, with 55,000 people still missing and mass graves being discovered. The Baghdad forensic institute works tirelessly to identify victims through DNA analysis, a process that is slow but provides closure for some families. Iraqi courts are prosecuting ISIS members, with exclusive footage showing trials of 11 French jihadists sentenced to death. These trials highlight the severe consequences for those involved with ISIS, regardless of their nationality.
A judge in Syrian Kurdistan accused France of abandoning its jihadists and transferring them to Iraq. French jihadists, like Brahim Nara, who was radicalized swiftly and fought with ISIS in Syria, were transferred to Iraq and sentenced to death, despite never having fought there. It is alleged that France paid Iraq $2 million for each of the 11 transfers. These individuals are held in Rousafa prison, where their families face obstacles in visiting them, though Miriam, Brahim's sister, eventually secured an exceptional visit.
While French jihadists may evade execution, they will remain imprisoned in Iraq for a long time. Iraq continues its war against ISIS, monitoring social networks for calls to jihad. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior confirms that ISIS remains active, and the international coalition, including France, provides support through air strikes, training, and advice. Despite efforts to rebuild, Baghdad and other regions live under constant threat, with painful memories of past attacks, serving as a reminder that ISIS, though weakened, is far from eradicated.