Although the US-led international coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a Kurdish-Arab alliance from the area — declared victory over the Islamic State when they took control of its last strongholds in al-Baghouz in March 2019, the global joy over eliminating the terrorist organization has not reached the people of Raqqa, the former capital of the caliphate, where IS seems to still wield significant influence.

Many of the city's people are still living in fear of the militants. Even if they cannot control the area as they once did, many IS cells are terrorizing civilians with bombings in residential areas, assassinations and threats despite the thousands of SDF soldiers in the area.

Hassan Abdullah (a pseudonym), a car dealer and a father of three in Raqqa who preferred not to reveal his real identity for fear of retaliation by IS or arrest by the SDF, lives in a rented house after the international coalition raids destroyed his family's home during the battle to expel IS from Raqqa.

Abdullah told Al-Monitor that residents are even more afraid of IS than before. “IS still exists," he said. "In September 2020, I got a phone call from a private number. The first thing I heard was: ‘We are the Islamic State, and we know that you make a lot of money from the car trade, and you have to pay zakat to us, or we are going to kill you,’” referring to a traditional Islamic charitable donation.