Tens of thousands of ISIS mercenaries disappear  in Syria

A U.S. report has warned that 15,000 to 20,000 IS mercenaries  and their families have disappeared in Syria after security chaos and mass escapes from camps and prisons in the northeast of the country.

An official report released by the Pentagon's Inspector   General for Operation Inherent Resolve, in cooperation with intelligence agencies, said  between 15,000 and 20,000 suspected IS individuals  and their families had fled northeast Syria in one of the most serious security breaches since the fall of the so-called "caliphate."

Al-Hol camp. Almost complete discharge

The newly released US report said US assessments  had identified  a near-complete evacuation of the sprawling al-Hol camp, with its population falling from about 23,400 to just under 1,500, as a result of mass fleeing and organised smuggling of women and families linked to the group.

   Nearly 1,500 hardline prisoners escaped from al-Shaddadi prison, amid security chaos that accompanied military withdrawals and a change in control of territory, allowing the group elements to exploit loopholes and disappear into vast desert areas, the report said.

Pentagon: $130 million to fight ISIS

In response to this threat, Pentagon documents revealed a plan to allocate $130 million in the fiscal year 2027 budget, with the goal of supporting counterterrorism programs, protecting the remaining detention facilities in Syria, and preventing a recurrence of the collapse.

The developments have prompted neighboring countries, led by Iraq, to deploy more than 80,000 troops along the 600-kilometer border, in an effort to prevent the infiltration of fleeing elements and close any potential corridors to reactivate the group's cells.

A major escape attempt was foiled

The report noted that US forces and the international coalition had earlier thwarted a mass escape attempt by more than 6,000 members from one of the main prisons, describing the operation as sparing the region an immediate security disaster that would have reshaped the terrorist threat within hours.

  The U.S. Military Academy at West Point warned that this collapse represents a global threat, as it gives the fleeing ISIS cells a golden opportunity to reposition and expand in the Syrian desert, taking advantage of open spaces and weak surveillance.

West Point Sounds the Alarm of  the "Islamic State"

A study published by the American Academy in April 2026 by researcher Devora Margolin  highlighted  the complete collapse of the file of the detention of ISIS elements  and their families in northeastern Syria, seven  years after the elimination of the geographical "caliphate."

The study warned that the decline in the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the absence of an immediate international alternative created a vast security vacuum, allowing for the largest free redeployment of the group's elements since 2019.

 Margolin believes that this collapse does not only threaten Syria, but its impact extends to regional and international security, with the possibility of the group's cells returning to work in an open environment without supervision.

In another study by researcher Adrian Stoney published in February 2026, "From Insurgency to State Administration: Sharia and the Test of Foreign Fighters in Syria,"  the American Academy examined  how the new authority led by Ahmed al-Sharaa dealt with the legacy of foreign fighters and transnational extremist groups.

US study warns of return of Uzbek fighters

The study considered that this file represents the most dangerous test for the new administration, as it will determine whether Syria will turn into a renewed launching pad for external operations, or whether the PA will succeed in controlling these groups in a way that gives them international legitimacy and reduces the risks of insecurity, according to the study.

In a third study, the academy tracked the  evolution of foreign groups, specifically networks of Uzbek fighters in the Syrian arena, documenting how battalions such as the Imam Bukhari Brigade and the Jamaat-e-Tawhid wal-Jihad developed until late 2025, gaining advanced tactical expertise, especially in the use of drones and the implementation of complex operations.

The study warned that these groups are now operating in network cells capable of transferring their expertise to other regions, such as Central Asia and Afghanistan, raising the level of the cross-border threat.