The US is rushing to contain the resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria

U.S. forces are rushing to subdue the resurgent Islamic State in Syria, several U.S. and allied officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The US largely defeated the Islamic State Syria along with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2019 through a coordinated global military effort to eliminate the terrorist group from the area. But now the terror group is expanding its forces and launching attacks on allied troops at high levels, and US forces and the SDF are working quickly to dismantle the group before it becomes too dangerous a threat, officials say. he said the WSJ.

“This year has been the worst since we defeated the Islamic State,” Gen. Rohilat Afrin, co-commander of the SDF, told the WSJ, speaking from a US base in Syria. “No matter how hard you knock them down, they'll try to get back up.”

The Islamic State is recruiting new militants — destined eventually to become suicide terrorists — and making efforts to free thousands of imprisoned fighters, according to the WSJ. The terrorist group has already claimed more than 153 attacks in Syria and Iraq in the first half of 2024 alone.

As of July 2023, there had been 181 attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Syria that year. seconds to the Foreign Relations Council.

“What we're seeing is the movement of men, weapons and equipment,” a US Special Forces officer based in Syria told the WSJ.

According to the WSJ, approximately 233 suspected Islamic State terrorists have been captured by SDF forces in the first seven months of 2024. In coordination with the US, SDF forces conduct routine raids in areas where suspected Islamic State cells.

US forces carried out four airstrikes in 2023 and assisted in another 50 strikes against the Islamic State since the beginning of last year, according to the WSJ. The United States also provides intelligence and surveillance data to the SDF to aid in raids and attacks.

Although the US usually refrains from direct involvement in the fighting, the forces will occasionally kill or capture Islamic State leaders, according to the WSJ. There are currently more than 3,000 US civilian and military forces between Syria and Iraq.

Iraqi leaders are calling on the United States to completely withdraw its resources from their country, according to the WSJ. Diplomatic talks between the United States and Iraq last month failed to produce a withdrawal agreement, but US officials were left worried that the prospect was even being raised.

“We're going to see chaos like we've never seen before,” Brig. Gen. Ali al-Hassan, a spokesman for US forces in northern Syria, told the WSJ. “Any withdrawal will cause immediate activation of dormant cells.”

American forces have recently entered conflict with a variety of terrorist groups throughout the Middle East, some of which are considered enemies, but all of which have been hostile to the West. Tensions rose sharply after October 7, when Hamas invaded Israel and killed an estimated 1,200, sparking a regional war and engulfing Western forces and terrorist affiliates.

There have been more than 170 attacks against US and allied forces in Syria, Iraq and Jordan since October 7. seconds at The Intercept.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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