The second establishment of the first stronghold: The reasons for the return of ISIS again in Syria and Iraq

Shaimaa Hefzi

Day after day, intelligence warnings about the return of ISIS are increasing again in Syria and Iraq in particular, after the United States announced the end of the organization there by the beginning of this year.

Gen. Mark Kimmitt, a former US Deputy Secretary of Defense, said in statements: “No one believes that ISIS is completely over, and what we now believe that the organization will be able to launch large-scale attacks such as carried out in 2014 and 2015, and obtain land to control, in addition to the existence of other terrorist organizations operating on the ground and not related to the ideology of the alleged succession of the organization.”

He added: “What remains of concern is that terrorist organizations whenever they find themselves a quiet haven to raise funds and planning will adhere to it, and there are places and regions in Syria and Iraq providing these conditions for the organization. We demanded the organization to remove these safe havens completely to prevent the return of organizations.”

In a report released on Wednesday, a Pentagon inspector general warned that the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization has re-emerged in Syria as the United States withdraws its forces from the country, noting that it has strengthened its capabilities in Iraq.

ISIS in Iraq and Syria has strengthened its capabilities in Iraq and resumed its activities in Syria during the current quarter.

The report added that ISIS was able to consolidate and support operations in both countries, in part because local forces were unable to continue long-term operations, launch simultaneous operations, or preserve the territory they had recovered.

The report pointed out that the re-emergence of the organization in Syria occurred when Washington “partially withdrew” from it, contrary to the opinion of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which was demanding “more training and equipment.”

Dr. Hussein Allawi, head of the Akkad Center for Strategic Affairs, said the recent attacks by ISIS in Iraq, a guerrilla war after the war broke its thorn, but recorded a somewhat thoughtful comeback to build relationships with local fighters, re-establish alliances, promote social media and psychologically influence them.

Foreigners and locals

Allawi adds: “We have noticed in Iraq, we have seen a decrease in the flow of foreign fighters from Syria, but the main problem remains in the local fighters.

We must understand the story of the rise of these terrorist movements over the past three years, even before US intervention in the region, and the United States must understand that terrorist organizations cannot be quickly eliminated or dealt with in one area or one way.”

“We have made a mistake in assessing the situation of ISIS in northern Syria when we started dealing with remnants of ISIS. We calculated that there were thousands of ISIS members remaining in the Pagos, but we found hundreds of thousands of them on the ground.”