More than 20 sources, including regional diplomats and officials from Syria, Iraq, the United States and Europe, voiced concern to Reuters that IS (also known as ISIS or ISIL) is attempting to stage a comeback after its territorial defeat in 2017.
In recent months, IS has shifted personnel from remote desert areas to urban centers such as Deir al-Zor, Hasakah and Kirkuk, targeting oil facilities, power lines and other vulnerable infrastructure, according to the Straight Arrow News. Sleeper cells have reemerged in these cities, taking advantage of scaled-down coalition patrols in eastern Syria. A January report from the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute warned that IS "gradually rebuilt its capabilities since 2022 in the central Syrian desert — where regime forces infrequently and ineffectively patrolled — and gradually infiltrated then-regime-held towns along the Euphrates River." (Read More)
