Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Concerns about resurgence Islamic State in Syria remain heightened following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and an increase in attacks targeting the US-aligned Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
President-elect Donald Trump may face another round against the extremist group as the SDF faces the reality that it may have to split its focus between ISIS and threats posed by Turkey.
The SDF said five of its soldiers were killed in attacks by Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Anti-regime fighters stand on the road as displaced Syrian Kurds drive vehicles laden with supplies on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway to flee an area on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo that was previously controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after they were ousted on December 2. 2024. occupied by rebels led by Islamists. (RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)
The attacks followed after the apparent collapse of the ceasefire agreement brokered by the Biden administration as the US and the SDF ramp up efforts to fight ISIS.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday that his “biggest concern” is the return of ISIS, which was considered “defeated” in 2019.
“ISIS loves a vacuum,” he said, referring to how the extremist group has used power struggles in places like North Africa to gain a foothold. “What we’re seeing right now in Syria are areas that are basically without government because the fall of the Assad regime.
“Our goal is to make sure we support the SDF — the Kurds — and keep ISIS in check,” he added.
Comrades attend the funeral of five Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters who were killed in Manbij during clashes with Turkish-backed opposition factions earlier this week, in Qamishli, northeastern Syria on December 14, 2024. (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The US has long had to balance its campaign against ISIS in Syria — which it is fighting with the help of Kurdish coalition forces, despite Turkey viewing the SDF as similar terrorist network of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — with Washington’s partnership with Ankara as a NATO ally.
“The SDF and the Assad regime were the main opponents of ISIS,” Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and founder of “The Long War Journal,” told Fox News Digital. “With the former gone and the latter under pressure from Turkish proxies, concerns about the spread of ISIS are justified.”
“Turkey wants to destroy the SDF,” Roggio confirmed. “Turkey has an ideal opportunity to destroy the SDF, and it will take advantage of this unique situation. I expect an attack[s] against the SDF increase.”
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP’S SYRIAN DILEMMA: INTERVENTE OR ALLOW IT TO TURN INTO A STATE OF TERROR
The Biden administration has already taken steps to ramp up its campaign against ISIS, hitting more than 75 sites in a landmark strike earlier this month targeting known “ISIS leaders, operatives and camps,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed. .
A soldier from the US-led coalition gestures towards schoolchildren during a joint patrol by the US-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Kurds in the village of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 8, 2024. (Reuters/Orhan Qeraman)
The operation coincided with the fall of Damascus on the 8th. December following the sweeping takeover of Aleppo, Hama and Homs by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), aided by the Turkish-backed military Syrian National Army (SNA).
In addition, CENTCOM on Thursday killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif aka Mahmud using a precision airstrike in eastern Syria — an area where, according to Syrian news outlets, ISIS has succeeded seize weapons warehouses who belonged to the former Syrian army under the Assad regime amid “chaos”.
SDF forces in an attempt to suppress the ISIS insurgency captured 18 ISIS terrorists and suspected associates on Sunday near the city of Raqqa, which was once an ISIS strongholdaccording to ANF News.
The campaign was reportedly conducted “in cooperation with international coalition forces,” but CENTCOM has not yet confirmed whether the U.S. is involved.
US forces provide military training to members of the YPG/SDF, which Turkey considers an extension of the PKK in Syria, in the Qamisli district of Al-Hasakah province, Syria, on August 18, 2023. The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union of the Union. (Hedil Amir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
But the major concern remains that the SDF could see its operational capabilities divided as attacks the Turkish-backed SNA coalition forces increase — which could pose problems for the incoming Trump administration as it seeks to prevent the resurgence of ISIS while balancing US relations with Turkey, which is additionally expected to wield enormous influence over the new Syrian government.
“We continue to monitor the situation in Syria,” Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump-Vance Transition, said in response to questions from Fox News Digital. “President Trump is committed to reducing threats to peace and stability in the Middle East and protecting Americans here at home.”
