ISIS Plotted to Seize Syria's Hasakeh, Declare Formation of New Group

ISIS was plotting to seize Syria's Hasakeh city and launch new operations to seize the province in wake of this year's prison break by members of the terrorist organization, revealed a member of a sleeper cell of the group.

The Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released the confessions of the detainee, Abdullah Ismail Ahmed.

Ahmed, 28, hails from the town of al-Hol in Hasakeh. He confessed to joining ISIS in 2014. He started off as a fighter, then rose up the ranks to become a administrative official and was later appointed a leader of a brigade that was tasked with carrying out terrorist attacks in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. He led military operations in Hasakeh and its countryside after ISIS' military defeat and the loss of its territories in 2019.

Ahmed revealed that the jailbreak at Gweiran Prison in January was supposed to be a top secret mission. He was ordered to carry it out by "Abdulaziz", the ISIS "wali", or ruler, of Hasakeh.

The plot was to be carried out in three phases. The first would see the release of several leading ISIS inmates, the second would see the capture of the prison with the aid of the terrorist inmates and the third would see the capture of areas in the vicinity of the facility and eventually territories leading to the al-Hol camp and the Iraqi-Syrian border.

A new organization would be declared and it would have carried out terrorist attacks to strike fear in the population and weaken the SDF.

However, the plot was thwarted by the SDF's staunch defense of the prison and the major support they received from the US-led international coalition to defeat ISIS.

Gweiran Prison held some 5,000 ISIS detainees.

The weeklong fighting left 350 ISIS members and 130 SDF fighters dead.

The SDF announced Ahmed's arrest in April. 

Source: ISIS Plotted to Seize Syria's Hasakeh, Declare Formation of New Group | Asharq AL-awsat (aawsat.com)