US looks to prevent ISIS resurgence in Syria amid rebel conflict

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Ryan Robertson Anchor

By Ryan Robertson (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Ian Kennedy (Video Editor)

The Assad regime ruled Syria with brutality for decades. Less than a week after Syrian rebels toppled the regime, the U.S. got to work to prevent ISIS from filling the void.

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While rebels from the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and the Free Syrian Army have begun to form a new government in the capital Damascus, dozens of other organizations are trying to win control in different parts of the country.

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Efforts to keep ISIS at bay

In that chaos, the U.S. launched dozens of airstrikes on ISIS targets.

The groups competing for power in Syria have a complicated mix of allies. The U.S., for example, relies on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group made up mostly of fighters who are ethnically Kurdish.

Syria’s neighbor Turkey has its own domestic issues with Kurds looking for independence and considers the SDF a terrorist organization.

Both the U.S. and Turkey supported the fall of the Assad regime, but Turkey backed different groups looking to take over. Those groups have launched attacks on the SDF.

In the face of the attacks, a top SDF commander told CNN the group needed to move some of the ISIS detainees held in more than 20 prisons and camps across Syria. The commander said they’ve had to stop most of their anti-ISIS activities to fight the Turkish-backed rebels.

ISIS resurgence threats

ISIS came out of yearslong hiding in Syria. The SDF’s top commander said they’ve seen more ISIS activity in areas under SDF control.

U.S. officials are talking with Turkish counterparts to try to ensure the conflict doesn’t let ISIS rebuild in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Turkey for meetings with the country’s government about Syria’s uncertainty.

The U.S. has about 900 troops stationed in Syria to help anti-ISIS groups keep the terrorist organization from trying to establish another caliphate.

President-elect Donald Trump may change that. He said last week the U.S. “should have nothing to do with” the situation in Syria.

Tags: Bashar Assad, Isis, Middle East, Syria, Turkey, U.S. military

RYAN ROBERTSON: The Assad regime ruled Syria with brutality for decades. Less than a week after Syrians toppled the regime the U.S. started going to work to make sure ISIS doesn’t fill the void.

While rebels from HTS and the Free Syrian Army are beginning to form a government in the capital Damascus, dozens of other groups are trying to win control in different parts of the country. In that chaos, the U.S. launched dozens of airstrikes on ISIS targets.

The groups competing for power in Syria have a complicated mix of allies. The U.S., for example, relies on the SDF, a group made up mostly of fighters who are ethnically Kurdish. Syria’s neighbor Turkey has its own domestic issues with Kurds looking for independence and considers the SDF a terrorist organization.

Both the U.S. and Turkey wanted the old Syrian regime to fall, but Turkey backs different groups, which are launching major attacks on the SDF.

In the face of the attacks, a top SDF commander told CNN the group needed to move some of the ISIS detainees held in more than 20 prisons and camps across Syria. And they’ve had to stop most of their anti-ISIS activities to fight the Turkish-backed rebels.

ISIS, meanwhile, came out of a years-long hiding in Syria. The SDF’s top commander says that they’ve seen more ISIS activity in areas under SDF control.

U.S. officials are working to connect with their counterparts in Turkey in an effort to make sure the fighting between groups the two countries back doesn’t risk letting ISIS rebuild in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Turkey for meetings with the country’s government about the uncertainty in Syria.

The U.S. currently has about 900 troops stationed in Syria to help anti-ISIS groups keep the terrorist organization from trying to establish another caliphate.

President-elect Trump may change that, however. He said last week the U.S. “should have nothing to do with” the situation in Syria.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Ryan Robertson.

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