In only the first week of 2023 the Department of Defense has warned that a new breed of terrorists are expected to emerge this year. It is anticipated that the group of extremist militants will be an offshoot of terror group Islamic State (ISIS).
Officials described the potential resurgence as an “impressive restoration for a terrorist organization whose caliphate once occupied a large region of Iraq and Syria, which was conquered by an American-led counterterrorism campaign” reports Foreign Desk News.
Reportedly ISIS is organizing a “revenge mission against the United States and its partners since the American strike in Syria last year killed the group’s top leaders and officials” writes Foreign Desk News, while noting that although “ISIS is not as strong as it was a decade ago, the group still contains thousands of fighters in its ranks which conduct lethal terrorist attacks.”
Additionally, the United States and its partners have captured tens of thousands of ISIS fighters who are now detained in prison camps around the world. Most notably, ISIS detention sites in Iraq and Syria “present short and long-term troubles” with concerns of prison uprisings.
If prison uprisings and breakouts were to occur across the region, it would put thousands of trained ISIS fighters back on the battlefield despite being declared “territorially defeated,” according to analysts.
“Former and current national security experts have warned the White House and Congress about the ongoing resurgence of Islamic terrorism in places like the Middle East and Africa, calling on the federal government and international community to implement a plan to fill the vacuum before Islamic State rebounds” Foreign Desk News reports.