ISIS dangerous ideology remains threat in Syria – CJTF-OIR
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The dangerous ideology of the Islamic State (ISIS) remains a threat although the group has been militarily defeated, said Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) on Wednesday.
In a special online briefing, McFarlane said ISIS continues to aspire to regain some type of military capacity. “That’s why we continue to work with our partner forces in our shared mission to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh.”
He confirmed that the US-led Global Coalition continues to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIS, saying, ” the coalition continues to support our partners in the fight against Daesh in Syria. That’s the Syrian Democratic Forces, as they are leading that fight.”
The US general stressed the need to send ISIS members who are detained in prisons in northeast Syria to their countries of origin.
As for the recent reportedly moves of Iranian militias in the Syrian Desert, McFarlane said there were not any preparations for any military operations to cut off anybody except for ISIS. “We remain focused on Daesh and the instability that a handful of fighters can cause if they regain or build their numbers to create a greater threat,” he noted.
As for Hawl Camp, the CJTF-OIR general said they are working on decreasing the number of ISIS families in the camp, saying “we help facilitate the repatriation of internally displaced persons from that camp, and then we also assist our partners – the Syrian Democratic Forces – at ensuring the security in that camp.”
He pointed out that the number of the attacks has declined, this means that a steady progress can be seen, and that no cases of murders have been recorded this year.
“We’re tracking zero murders this year compared to previous years where they were in the double digits. And so we’ve seen improvements, to include from over the last year going from over 53,000 to 48,000 this year. So we’ve seen a drop in the numbers there because of many of our international partners repatriating, to include the Government of Iraq,” the general noted.