Editor TLN
The militiamen take advantage of the relaxation of security measures and the hostility of some conservative tribes towards Kurdish hegemony. Lone wolf attacks are on the rise. It is not about open field battles, but operations with very precise objectives. Jihad is also financed through taxes and levies “sanctioned” by the Koran.
Aleppo () – These days, taking advantage of the relaxation of security measures and military operations on the ground, the Islamic State (IS, ex-ISIS) has launched a series of attacks against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. , gaining some of the ground lost in the past. For now, the days when, between 2014 and 2017, the men of the “Islamic caliphate” controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq, at the cost of a trail of blood and terror, still seem distant. Although ISIS has been defeated militarily, the jihadist threat risks sowing new confusion and fueling the escalation of violence in the Arab country.
Local sources report “renewed activity” by ISIS in areas under Kurdish control and patrolled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). On October 14, the militiamen claimed responsibility for an operation in the town of Tal Alo, in Hassaké province, in which Hamidi Bandar Hamidi al-Hadi, son of the head of the Al-Sanadid Forces, was hit. It is a formation made up of the Shammar Arab tribe and which operates under the joint guidelines of the US coalition and the SDF. Hadi’s car exploded on the way between Tal Alo and the family farm in the Qamishli countryside: the man managed to survive.
On October 19, an ISIS militiaman killed Amer Awad al-Shawi, a former member of the SDF forces, and his partner Ayman al-Shawi, in an ambush in Al-Busayrah, in the eastern suburbs of Deir ez. -Zor. A local source transmitted by al-Monitor explains that the jihadist group stopped its operations “only to attack again with greater ferocity.” In addition, according to journalist Zain al-Abidin al-Akeidi, “some tribes are creating a suitable environment for the Islamic State. The large number of displaced people in the rural area east and northwest of Deir ez-Zor allows the Islamic State to hide their cells and fighters”. They take advantage of the “fragility” and lack of “security” in the territories controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces.
ISIS, explains the journalist, takes advantage of the prevailing corruption to weaken the security forces, freeing detainees and fueling the discontent of conservative tribes who do not see Kurdish hegemony and control favorably. The militiamen carry out bombings and attacks using the lone wolf technique, maintain a great influence in the Deir ez-Zor countryside and, on occasion, impose payment of Zakat [la obligación de “purificar” la propia riqueza, según marca el Corán] to residents of the area. Workers and employees of oilfields controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces are also targeted.
Raed al-Hamid is an expert on armed groups and is based in Erbil. He says that ISIS strategies are based on three main elements: the protection of their own men, operating in small groups of less than 15 combatants, avoiding large offensives or open field battles; the spread of the ideology, although its popularity seems to be in sharp decline; the third, and most crucial, is financial, with operations on several fronts to support jihad, the holy war.
