Fighting in Northern Syria – New ISIS Attacks: What Is Known So Far – News

The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) launched an offensive in northern Syria. Fighting escalated over the weekend.

All about this: Fighting between ISIS fighters and Kurdish forces in northern Syria has been going on for days – the fiercest since the so-called ISIS caliphate was crushed in 2017. On Sunday evening, the US military stepped into the fight and is now supporting Kurdish forces from the air. . Because the Kurdish fighters are having a hard time controlling the situation. This is shown, among other things, in Al-Hasakah, where a prison was broken into.

that happened: On Thursday evening, ISIS forces attacked the prison located in the Kurdish sphere of influence, and released a number of extremists who were being held there. The Islamic State initially caused chaos with car bombs, obtained weapons by storming the prison, and then began liberating the inmates. Since then, Syrian Kurdish fighters have been trying to regain control of the prison.

These are the effects: The British Observatory for Human Rights in Syria reported that 67 people had been killed and around 1,000 residents had fled. Because with the raids on prisons – including this prison – the advance of ISIS began in 2014. This brings back bad memories. At that time, extremists managed to control large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Legend:

At the end of the year, the United States withdrew its combat troops from Iraq. There, too, the attacks took place at the same time as the attack on the Syrian prison.

Reuters

Some of the suspected ISIS members released in the prison raid appear to have been rearrested or killed. But it is unclear how many are still on the run.

This is the background: Despite the setbacks, ISIS has not been completely defeated. During the past two years, his followers launched more attacks and raids in Iraq and Syria. For one thing, the state organization finds it relatively easy to recruit new members. This is related to the poor economic situation in the region. ISIS is a criminal gang that deals with weapons smuggling – and with money: many young people don’t have money, so they hire them.

On the other hand, ISIS always attacks wherever there are security holes. In Iraq, for example, there are disputed areas between the Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. And if no one controls a village, ISIS will attack that very village. Perhaps this is the reason for the ISIS attack on Al-Hasakah prison in northern Syria. Prisons where suspected ISIS extremists are being held are hopelessly overcrowded, and conditions are inhumane. With a large number of prisoners, it was feared that the Kurds would not be able to maintain their control over this prison.