A year after the ‘defeat’ of the Islamic State Jihadist organization the group is witnessing a revival, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.The organization succeeded in maintaining a significant force of 30,000 armed terrorists who are in control of less than one percent of the territory of the self-proclaimed Caliphate in both Syria and Iraq, but it is “re-emerging as a guerilla force that is returning to its insurgent roots” the Pentagon warns.
This weekend, ISIS terrorists in eastern Syria managed to stave off an offensive by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the town of Hajin, the group’s last stronghold in the eastern Syrian desert near Deir Ez-Zur and re-capture parts of the town.
The SDF offensive against ISIS’ last strongholds in eastern Syria has been going on for three months and has caused most of the civilian population of Hajin to flee via safe passage corridors created by the Kurdish-dominated militia.
The US-led coalition against Islamic State has already carried out 1000 airstrikes on Hajin, but the Jihadists are not willing to surrender and have vowed to fight to the death.
Using scores of suicide bombers, the Jihadists succeeded in chasing the SDF out of some neighborhoods of Hajin, which had been already seventy percent liberated by the American-backed force.
Elsewhere in Syria, the pro-Assad coalition is slowly advancing against what the Arabs call ‘Daesh’ an acronym for ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).
In the Sweida Province, also referred to as the ‘Druze Mountain’, Assad’s forces are steadily eliminating the last ISIS hubs after routing Islamic State in the Yarmouk Basin a few months ago, but the Jihadists continue to stage suicide attacks.
In Iraq, Islamic State has succeeded in maintaining footholds in the desert in the Anbar Province and its fighters continue to stage attacks on the Iraqi army and the predominantly Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi. READ MORE
