US and EU share concerns about ISIS in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The United States (US) and the European Union (EU) shared on May 25 concerns about Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and reviewed their cooperation within the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in March 2019. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, defeated ISIS after fierce battles in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate declared by the terrorist ISIS.
After Baghouz, thousands of ISIS fighters were transferred to prisons, while their families were transferred to Hawl and Roj camps in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)-held areas.
However, several areas in Syria still witness an increase in cases of assassination by ISIS, targeting civilians and military personnel despite intensive security operations launched by the SDF and government forces.
The US and the EU discussed, in a joint statement on the US-EU Counterterrorism Dialogue, their shared priorities in the global fight against terrorism and their assessment of the threat landscape around the world, including in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa.
They also shared concerns about ISIS in Iraq, the threat from ISIS-K in Afghanistan and beyond.
The US and EU will hold the next iteration of the Counterterrorism Dialogue in 2024, in Washington D.C.