The military is concerned that the Islamic State terrorist group could rebound amid an unfolding humanitarian crisis in northeastern Syria, as local officials sound the alarm about a lack of resources to deal with a coronavirus outbreak.
In order to help prevent a crisis, the international coalition to defeat the militant group has begun sending basic medical equipment and other supplies to the Syrian Democratic Forces guarding thousands of ISIS prisoners, two senior coalition staff officers who work directly on this issue told POLITICO.
In addition to the potential for a new humanitarian crisis, the worry is that worsening conditions across the besieged region could spark riots in the detention centers and provide ISIS the opportunity to recruit additional members, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
