A recent ISIS attack on a prison in northeastern Syria became the biggest confrontation between the terrorist group and the United States and its allied forces since 2019. The attack raises a question: Could the Islamic State group be on the cusp of a resurgence?

We explore what the attack means, why the prison was so vulnerable in the first place and what has become of the thousands of fighters and families left behind after the fall of the Caliphate.

Guest: Jane Arraf, the Baghdad bureau chief for The New York Times.

Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, RECORD A VOICE MEMO and email it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.

Background reading:

The Islamic State may no longer be able to control territory, but the attack on a prison in northeastern Syria has shown that it can still pull off opportunistic military operations.

Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Fr. Josiah Trenham

The AI-powered Podcast Player