After America’s Withdrawal, the Kurds Wage a New War Against ISIS

ISIS members in Syria and Iraq still number in the tens of thousands, also retaining millions of dollars in assets. Source: The Syria Times

By: Nathan Matsko

Bellefonte — A new wave of Kurdish military operations against the Islamic State was announced earlier this month. The government of the disputed regions of Kurdistan is intent on securing their territory and routing what remains of the Islamic State.

As reported by Kurdistan 24, one of the operations carried out by Kurdish forces sought to route ISIS fighters living amongst the civilian population in the Garmiyan administration, a region between Erbil and Baghdad.

The news organization claims that one of its correspondents on the ground witnessed multiple clashes between Peshmerga and ISIS forces, resulting in multiple casualties for the Islamic State. 

This particular operation is in response to several recent ISIS attacks in the region, most notably when Islamic State militants set up a fake checkpoint and kidnapped several civilians. Their fates remain unknown.

Another operation by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces saw the arrest of known members of an Islamic State sleeper cell, a secretive group terrorist agents that remain inactive within a target population until ordered to strike.

Simultaneously, the Iraqi military has launched its own series of campaigns with US assistance, resuming the partnership that was previously in question after the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

These new operations reflect the changing dynamics of the conflict against the group that terrorized the region years ago. The Islamic State has gone from a massive group that rivaled local, US-backed forces to a scattered rabble of fighters. These ¨sleeper cells” rely on guerilla-style, hit and run tactics to terrorize the local population and the militaries that are hunting them down.

This transformation, however, does not mean the group isn’t a serious threat to the region. Kurdish leaders have stressed that the number of ISIS members in Syria and Iraq still number in the tens of thousands, while also retaining millions of dollars in assets. These statements are supported by a report the Pentagon released last summer.

Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a statement last year that ISIS will remain a threat even after the death of its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a US-led mission in 2019. He cited the instability of Iraq as a major catalyst for a potential resurgence. These recent military campaigns seem to affirm these conclusions. While ISIS is not the force it once was, it will remain a threat for the foreseeable future.

Recent events in the region have provided an opportunity for the Islamic State to recover and regroup. The United States pullout from Syria resulted in a Turkish push against the Kurds, forcing Iraq and the United States to temporarily halt their cooperative efforts against ISIS. 

The Islamic State only sought to benefit from the quick withdrawal of US forces, most evident when nearly a thousand ISIS fighters escaped from a Kurdish-controlled jail. Though the group is falling back into the crosshairs of several parties, it would seem that earlier declarations of their defeat may have been premature.