A bloody six-day battle to catch more than 3,000 ISIS prisoners who escaped the Ghwayran jail in Hassakeh, Syria, was drawing to a close on Tuesday, when Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces forced around 550 surviving terrorists to surrender.
An unknown number of hostages, possibly including children being used as human shields, were still said be held by the group in the surrounding area.
ISIS knows not to get too excited and lose the momentum. They play the long game, happy to wait out the US
Craig Whiteside,
US Naval War College
At least 160 people have been killed — likely many more — while 45,000 civilians fled the town, the UN said.
If various accounts from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local media reports are correct, hundreds of ISIS fighters remain at large, boosting the now depleted group’s ranks.
The prison break, which involved two suicide attacks to breach the jail, was likely planned long in advance, displaying a high level of command and control as a "surge operation," said Craig Whiteside, a retired colonel and Iraq war veteran who now teaches at the US Naval War College.
It represents one of the largest and most sophisticated ISIS operations in Syria or Iraq in recent years.
US F-16 aircraft and Apache helicopters were called on to assist in dislodging ISIS positions from the town, while US forces on the ground used Bradley armoured vehicles.
The crisis has revived memories of the group’s most deadly jailbreak in 2013, when a large ground assault freed about 500 terrorists from Abu Ghraib in Iraq, conducting a similar raid on a prison in Tikrit — one of eight documented ISIS prison break operations — in a campaign by the militants known as Breaking the Walls.
During the Abu Ghraib raid, some of the group’s most skilled and notorious commanders were freed, energising their campaign, including Abu Abdulrahman Al Bilawi, who went on to lead the campaign to take Mosul.
These operations were vital for rebuilding ISIS ranks: the group was recovering in the aftermath of a devastating Sunni tribal revolt, modest improvements in Iraqi government counterterrorism capability and an effective coalition campaign, which ended in 2011.
By 2013, the group was holding sway in many rural areas of Iraq, amid a series of catastrophic mistakes by the Iraqi government.
Former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki was accused of allowing security forces to wither through corruption and political patronage, while marginalising Sunni communities. Sunni tribal forces were also left unpaid and many left their posts, signalling a shot in the arm for ISIS recruitment efforts and dividing Sunni communities.
“Prison breaks were significant early in ISIS history,” says Mr Whiteside.
“Badush jailbreak in 2007 was a notable early attempt, as was an attack on Abu Ghraib in 2004. But with coalition consolidation into [detention camps] Cropper and Bucca there was no chance,” he says.
“This changed once Iraqis took it over. ISIS commander Hudaifa Al Battawi led a huge uprising — an inside job — in 2010/11 that killed the prison commandant. Iraq was putting prisoners in very vulnerable places, including Abu Ghraib and Mosul, instead of deep in the south, not unlike current problems."
Syria's overcrowded ISIS camps
Those “current problems” were on full display during the fighting in Hasakkeh, where the SDF ran only one of several prisons holding tens of thousands of local and foreign ISIS fighters.
Experts have repeatedly given warnings that such a high concentration of imprisoned fighters in overcrowded jails is a recipe for disaster, with the SDF being understaffed, undertrained and underfunded to deal with the problem effectively.
Violence and the continued dissemination of ISIS ideology in the camps have been prominent among the many problems, as well as the ordeal faced by young children in the centres, who were born during ISIS' four year-long rule.
Critics accuse foreign governments of absolving themselves of responsibility for ISIS fighters who represent a political problem — and potential security problem at home.
A UN report warned in 2019 that ISIS was planning large-scale prison breaks, calling the situation in Syrian detention centres “precarious.”
“Until now there's been a low-level insurgency in SDF areas and this has been one of the major operations they've done since 2019,” Aymenn Al Tamimi, research fellow at George Washington University’s Programme on Extremism, tells The National.
But Mr Al Tamimi and Mr Whiteside do not believe the group is close to the kind of “force regeneration” seen between 2010 and 2014.
“Depending on how many prisoners managed to get out, I predict there would be more attacks but we’re still a long way off from replicating 2014,” Mr Al Tamimi says.
“Rhetorically they've spoken in their propaganda about freeing their prisoners, there's some significance to it. But at the same time I'd be cautious about saying it's a replay of 2012 and 2014 and there's still a long way off replicating the success they've had before, especially as the international community is more alert against this problem than it was at the beginning of 2014.”
Mr Whiteside, whose recent research has focused on specialised ISIS operations such as the Ghwayran attack, as well as their operations to rebuild before 2014, is also sceptical that the prison break represents the start of an ISIS resurgence.
“Trends don't tell us everything, but compared to 2013, violence is an order of magnitude lower and US presence in Syria and Iraq is still a check on unfettered expansion,” he says. “The question is, how long will they be there?”
In addition to ISIS attacks in Syria and Iraq being low compared to the build up to the fall of Mosul, what experts sometimes call “quality” or “spectacular” attacks like the Ghwayran prison raid are less common.
The 2013 Abu Ghraib raid, for example, involved 12 car bombs and a separate, well-planned attack 130 kilometres away in Tikrit.
“ISIS knows not to get too excited and lose the momentum. They play the long game, happy to wait out the US,” Mr Whiteside says.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Ashkal'
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
DUNGEONS%20%26%20DRAGONS%3A%20HONOR%20AMONG%20THIEVES
%3Cp%3EDirectors%3A%20John%20Francis%20Daley%20and%20Jonathan%20Goldstein%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Chris%20Pine%2C%20Michelle%20Rodriguez%2C%20Rege-Jean%20Page%2C%20Justice%20Smith%2C%20Sophia%20Lillis%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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