ISIS makes a comeback in Syria ahead of Trump’s return

Muhammad Amin
ISIS, the Arab “Inkatha” of the CIA, has stepped up aggression in eastern Syria in recent weeks, in a resurgence of tensions that could be an attempt to strongarm Donald Trump into keeping US soldiers ensnared in a conflict he swore to end during his first presidency.
The Al-Tanf military base in the north-east continues to train, resupply and support ISIS fighters who wage a reign of terror in a 55-km radius around the camp, according to Syrian, Russian and clan militia sources on the ground, Washington’s troops regularly loot Syrian oil and other resources, transporting them to their bases in Iraq.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces has also released 1 500 ISIS fighters from their prison camps, on condition they not attack SDF assets – leaving them free to attack Syrian-controlled areas.
In August, the Iraqi army increased security along the country’s Syrian border following the release of the ISIS fighters convicted of terrorism from SDF prison camps.
“The porous nature of the Iraq–Syria border, coupled with the ongoing conflict in the region, creates ideal conditions for ISIS to regroup and launch attacks,” Ahmad al-Sharifi, a strategic expert, told Shafaq News Agency.
The SDF holds thousands of ISIS fighters and their family members in around two dozen prison camps in occupied northeast Syria. These include 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them, The Cradle reports.
In 2022, the US military described the SDF-run prison camps as an ISIS “army in waiting.”
Russia warned at peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, last week that ISIS is escalating attacks in the 55-km area around the Al-Tanf base, The Cradle reports.
“The situation in Syria is very complicated. Extremist groups have become more active, both in the West and in the East. ISIS has become very active recently and has begun to carry out more and more attacks against government forces and pro-Iranian formations,” Russian special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev told reporters ahead of the talks.
There are “forces that want to destabilize“ the situation in Syria, Lavrentiev added.
The Astana talks seek to reach a lasting settlement to the US-backed war on Syria that began in 2011, and include representatives from Russia, Turkey, and Iran, and representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition, as well as observers from the UN, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.
Trump did pull most US troops out of Syria in 2019, but was forced as a compromise with the Pentagon to keep US troops at the Al-Tanf base, supposedly to “secure the oil fields and prevent ISIS from accessing revenue from stolen oil”, Politico reports.
Instead, the base acts as a vital haven for ISIS and all oil stolen – by ISIS and US soldiers – is redirected back to the base.