ISIS Resurfaces in Syria, Iraq

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during fighting with the Syrian regime forces in Azaz, Syria in 2013. (AP)
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during fighting with the Syrian regime forces in Azaz, Syria in 2013. (AP)
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ISIS Resurfaces in Syria, Iraq

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during fighting with the Syrian regime forces in Azaz, Syria in 2013. (AP)
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during fighting with the Syrian regime forces in Azaz, Syria in 2013. (AP)

Experts and officials have warned that the defeat of ISIS geographically, by taking down the extremist group’s final Syria stronghold in the eastern city of Baghouz, does not deter the threat of resurgence and sleeper cells in western Iraq and eastern Syria.

Political divisions, the absence of proper representation of all sects, economic turmoil, chaos and regional pull in Syria and Iraq present ISIS with a golden opportunity to reach out to local communities and rebuild its base.

These factors have persisted, and some have deepened since the defeat of ISIS in Iraq three years ago and in Syria a year ago.

More so, the emergence of the novel coronavirus in these two countries exposed political, economic and social shortcomings, setting the stage for an ISIS return.

In Iraq, ISIS has intensified its attacks against security forces and government institutions, taking advantage of the preoccupation of Iraqi forces with government formation consultations, the coronavirus and internal tensions, some of which are linked to the US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

In Syria, the past weeks have witnessed two waves of ISIS attacks: The first took place at the beginning of April, when violent clashes erupted in the desert of Sukhna in the eastern Homs countryside, following a surprise attack that killed about 30 members of the regime forces and loyalists. The second took place last Thursday, when ISIS launched a new attack near Deir Ezzour countryside, in which 11 regime forces were killed.

It became clear that ISIS is still able to gather its forces to execute attacks and kidnappings against both civil and military targets. The group has focused its attacks on oil facilities near the Sukhna desert, where it lost control in 2017.

In the region east of the Euphrates River, where the international coalition forces are deployed, the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) frequently launch preemptive strikes on ISIS pockets in the area, and the US military conducts airstrikes in search of ISIS leaders.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.