The US warns of the threat of ISIS' return after the fall of the Assad regime
Kyiv • UNN
The US National Security Advisor warns of a possible revival of ISIS due to the power vacuum in Syria after Assad's flight. Terrorists have become more active and may take advantage of instability in the region.
Washington warns that the fall of Assad opens the way for extremists, so it should be “firmly opposed.
Transmitted by UNN with reference to Financial Times.
“The biggest risk I see is that ISIS will come back, because ISIS wants to take advantage of any vacuum or instability in Syria after the civil war,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday.
The flurry of military activity that began hours after Assad fled to Russia and rebels seized Damascus on December 8 underscores U.S. concerns that ISIS will take advantage of the void left by the regime's spectacular collapse to re-emerge.
For reference
International coalitions have significantly weakened ISIS in recent years, although a decade ago the jihadists managed to carry out a significant attack on Iraq and Syria, which led to the capture of a large territory (the territory controlled by ISIS was comparable to the size of the United Kingdom).
In recent years, there have been several thousand ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, their activities are mainly limited to the areas of the central and eastern desert between the territory controlled by the former regime and the US-backed SDF.
However, the jihadist group is becoming increasingly active. Centcom (the Central Command of the US Armed Forces) stated that ISIS militants carried out 153 attacks in the first half of the year. It was indicated that they “intend to more than double” the total number of attacks.
Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute said in his report that “the reality is much worse” than the Centcom statement, as ISIS claims only a fraction of its attacks in Syria and Iraq.
According to the United States, this year ISIS has carried out more sophisticated attacks, including coordinated ambushes, targeted assassinations, and attacks on oil and gas facilities and checkpoints.
The FT writes that after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the rebel offensive that toppled Assad, the fight against ISIS risks becoming more difficult.
This may be influenced by the activities of Ankara-backed forces.
Turkey has deployed thousands of troops in northern Syria to confront Kurdish militants and support rebels under the auspices of the Syrian National Army.
Experts say there would be a significant risk if Turkish-backed rebels attacked the SDF in Hasakah in northeastern Syria, where the Kurdish-led group runs detention centers for about 9,000 ISIS prisoners, including foreign jihadists.
Preventing escape from prisons holding ISIS fighters is probably one of the most important things going forward to make sure that everything is stable,” said Aaron Zelin, a jihadist expert at The Washington Institute.
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