THE SET-UP: President Re-Elect Trump has often touted his “defeat” of ISIS. He touted when he was in the White House. And he touted when he was running to return to the White House.
Twenty twenty-five began with a deadly reminder that he didn’t really “defeat” ISIS. It may have been severely diminished and his administration can certainly say it *dislodged* ISIS from the geographical landmarks that put the “state” in Islamic State. But it didn’t die. It took up residence in Afghanistan. And, as you’ll read below, it was still operational in Assad’s Syria. Now Assad is gone and so are two of ISIS’s key foes. When the Iranians and the Russians followed Assad out the door they left behind a power vacuum … and it looks like ISIS wants to fill it.
They are not alone. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is gestating an embryonic government in Damascus. Syrians are celebrating now, but … Türkiye looms to the north. Israel is operating with impunity from the south. The Kurds are scrambling to hang on in the east. France just flew in from the west to attack ISIS. And the United States is there, too, with a contingent it recently beefed-up from 900 to 2000 troops. They are there to fight ISIS, btw … so, ISIS is not defeated.
And that may the the point of the attack in New Orleans … it could be the first of many reminders to the soon-to-be inaugurated Trump that they are alive and they plan on kicking. Or the attacker could ultimately turn out to be yet another “Lone Wolf” who “self-radicalized” and lashed out under the banner of ISIS, but not at the direction of ISIS. Either way, ISIS is a real presence in an up-for-grabs Syria. And they’ve got 10k former followers sitting in prisons in northeast Syria. Making sure they stay there is likely to keep US troops in Syria for a long time.- jp
TITLE: 'Revived' ISIS killed over 750 people in nearly 500 attacks in Syria throughout 2024: Report
https://thecradle.co/articles-id/28288
EXCERPTS: Since the start of the [2024], ISIS fighters have killed around 753 people during 491 recorded operations in Syria, according to a report published by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on 29 December.
“ISIS continues executing almost-daily military operations and counter-attacks in areas controlled by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian desert, while ISIS cells are still able to exploit opportunities to create a security vacuum and carry out assassinations, which clearly indicates that the ‘Islamic State’ is still alive and kicking,” the SOHR report states.
These operations included ambushes, armed attacks, and bombings. They were concentrated in the Aleppo-Hama-Raqqa triangle, the eastern desert of Homs, and the deserts of Deir Ezzor and Raqqah governorates, where a total of 646 people were killed.
The report highlights that at least 78 of those were civilians – including women and children – while 568 were members of the disbanded Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
Furthermore, another 107 people were killed in areas controlled by the US-backed SDF in Deir Ezzor, Hasakah, Aleppo, and Raqqah. The figure is divided between 30 civilians and 77 members of the SDF, the Internal Security Forces (Asayish), and other groups in the US-controlled regions.
The Syrian desert region is geographically linked to what is referred to as the '55-kilometer-zone’ surrounding the massive Al-Tanf US occupation base in eastern Syria. According to numerous reports in recent years, ISIS and other extremist groups have received training at the Al-Tanf base and were given logistical support to carry out hit-and-run attacks against Syrian military forces in the desert region.
Although the bulk of those killed by ISIS this year were SAA members, the extremist armed group often targets truffle hunters in the Syrian desert, killing hundreds over the past several years.
In contrast, since the start of the year, ISIS has lost about 117 fighters and commanders in security operations by the different actors present in Syria. At least 58 of those were killed by Russian airstrikes and SAA operations, while 42 were killed by the SDF and the US-led “International Coalition.”
→As ISIS continues to revitalize its forces, concerns are increasing about the fate of 10,000 ISIS fighters imprisoned by the SDF in northeast Syria. Kurdish officials stated earlier this month that an ongoing offensive by former ISIS and Al-Qaeda factions – supported by Turkiye and allied with the “transitional government” in Damascus – poses a direct “threat” to the security of these prisons.
"This is the closest thing we have to a ticking time bomb. If [Turkiye] doesn’t get these attacks on the SDF halted, we could have a massive jailbreak on our hands,” an unnamed US official told POLITICO on 18 December.
TITLE: US-Led Coalition patrols in Kobani highlight continued presence amid rising tensions
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/817797/us-led-coalition-patrols-in-kobani-highlight-continued-presence-amid-rising-tensions
EXCERPT: The US-led international coalition has strengthened patrols in the western countryside of Kobani, indicating a continued military presence in the strategically important city amid intensified tensions between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey.
The patrols come at a critical juncture as clashes between Turkish-backed factions and the SDF, a key US ally in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), have intensified in recent weeks.
The movements highlight Washington’s ongoing role in the volatile region despite geopolitical and military challenges.
Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, continues to be a symbol of resistance after the SDF and coalition forces drove ISIS out of the area in 2015.
However, Turkey has recurrently expressed concerns over the SDF’s ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.
The increased patrol activity reflects the coalition’s efforts to maintain stability in the region, but it also underlines the precarious balance of power, with Turkey continuing to threaten military operations against Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria.
Earlier today, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported three members of the Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (Asayish) were killed and seven others critically injured in an attack by Turkish-backed fighters in Aleppo's Kurdish-majority al-Ashrafiya neighborhood on Tuesday.
This is the first attack of its kind in Aleppo since Islamist-led rebel factions took control of most of the city in December.
The Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and al-Ashrafiya have continued to be under Kurdish control amid Syria’s prolonged civil war.
As stated by the UK-based SOHR, the attackers attacked a checkpoint using explosive-laden drones, resulting in the casualties.
Observers warn that the situation could escalate further if diplomatic efforts fail to address the growing tensions between the SDF and Turkey, leaving Kobani and its residents caught in the crossfire of regional rivalries.
TITLE: Foreign fighters given senior Syrian army posts, reports say
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86w27d4qpeo
EXCERPTS: The new Syrian authorities are reported to have given some foreign Islamist fighters senior official posts in the country's armed forces.
The army is being re-organised by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group that is now effectively in charge of the country following the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.
There's been no confirmation by the new leadership of the move, but it seems likely to raise concern inside and outside Syria over the role such foreign militants may play in the country's future.
It comes amid reports that Syria's new de-facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has held separate meetings with representatives of the Kurds and Christians in the country – two communities that are most concerned about the potential agenda of the new authorities.
Several Syrian sources have deduced that out of almost 50 new military roles that have been announced, at least six have gone to foreigners.
Based on the names that have been published, they are said to include Chinese Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turkish national. All are said to have been given high-ranking positions as colonels or brigadier-generals.
The role of foreign fighters in various armed groups during the civil war is one that stirs strong feelings in Syria.
Thousands of fighters from many different countries joined the uprising against Assad as it became an all-out armed conflict when mass protests were met with violence by the security forces.
Jihadists from abroad were seen as trying to impose their extremist ideology on Syria - something which Syrians from all communities are now saying they will not accept in the country's future after Assad.
Some formed their own groups and others provided the core of the Islamic State (IS) group, which took control of large regions in the east of Syria.
Opponents of HTS had long accused it of being largely made up of foreign jihadists - a charge Assad supporters used to try to delegitimise the group as it mounted its final, decisive offensive against the regime.
But in the years that he ran the rebel enclave in Idlib, Ahmed al-Sharaa – the leader of HTS and now Syria – had been getting rid of some of those foreign fighters in a bid to bolster his group's credentials as a nationalist rather than overtly jihadist force.
Since taking power al-Sharaa has repeatedly stressed the vision of a unified Syrian state, in which all communities must be respected and have a stake.
On Tuesday, a Syrian official said the first talks between members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and al-Sharaa since he became the most powerful man in Syria three weeks ago have now taken place and were positive.
The SDF is backed by the US and controls much of the north-east of Syria.
But Turkey, which has backed al-Sharaa's group HTS, sees them as terrorists, which has raised fears of a looming confrontation.
SEE ALSO:
Final death toll of Syria's civil war exceeds 528,500: Monitor
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/syrian-crisis/final-death-toll-of-syrias-civil-war-exceeds-528500-monitor