Syria and Iraq could see Daesh revival

Daesh has increased its pace of operations with deadly tactics such as ambushes, assassinations and explosions.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump had announced its intention to withdraw 500 troops in mid-January, leaving only 2,500 in Iraq. Almost all troops from other member-states of the anti-Daesh coalition had left the country at the start of the novel Covid-19 pandemic.

It is true that the chances of Daesh controlling a territory in Syria or Iraq like the one it had before are minimal but that doesn’t mean that they cannot mobilise the estimated 18,000 remaining fighters in the aforementioned countries.

In recent weeks, Daesh stepped up attacks on Syrian territory, raising fears of a substantial increase in its nuisance capacity. In fact, hardly a day passes in Syria without Daesh announcing new attacks in different areas of the five governorates, in a campaign that escalated nearly three months ago, and its targets are the ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ in the east to the Assad forces and the opposition factions in the north and west.

Last month, 39 Syrian soldiers going on leave were shot dead by Daesh members in their bus that was taking them to Deir Ez Zor. The attack was one of the deadliest since the fall of the caliphate in March 2019.

Daesh has increased its pace of operations with deadly tactics such as ambushes, assassinations and explosions, and in the absence of political openness in Syria, the group is likely to intensify its attacks. After losing Al Baghouz area, Daesh announced a direct shift in its strategy from “classic wars” to “wars of attrition” and guerrilla wars, which it is pursuing in the Syrian Badia region against local forces.

And as long as these attacks will continue, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad will take advantage of the situation to send a message to the international community that Daesh is still strong and, therefore, support must be provided to him and his regime to confront the threat.