US-allied Syrian Kurdish woman commander: ISIS poised to carry 'fight to new level'
As Islamic State militants reportedly made advances in Syria on Thursday, the commander in chief of the Women’s Protection Units warned in an exclusive interview that the group’s plans included taking “over entire villages.”
AL-HASAKAH, Syria — After nearly a decade of dormancy, the war between Turkey-backed Sunni militants and the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was reignited last week with the stunning takeover of Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, by the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
On Thursday, the militants announced they had driven out Syrian regime forces from the city of Hama, leaving Assad, the country’s Alawite strongman, looking ever more fragile as his top allies, Iran and Russia, failed to stop opposition advances.
As the violence intensifies, one group stands to benefit — the Islamic State, which is quietly plotting a comeback in the country after its “caliphate” crumbled in 2019 following a five-year-long war with the US-led coalition and its Kurdish-led ally, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
As Al-Monitor went to press, there were unconfirmed reports that ISIS had captured several areas near Palmyra to the west of the country.
