Russian sources: America has reactivated ISIS in al-Tanf, Syria.
Russian sources have emphasized that the United States, with its new support for ISIS terrorist elements, has reactivated them in parts of the east and north-southeast of Syria.
Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that Russian sources have confirmed that the United States has provided new support to ISIS elements in parts of Syria and that the reason behind the activation of ISIS elements after four months is America’s support.
According to the report of this Lebanese newspaper, “In the last forty-eight hours, elements of the ISIS group have carried out two attacks on the positions of the Syrian army and its allied forces in the two provinces of Raqqa (north) and Deir ez-Zor (east). These attacks show that Daesh is resuming its military activity in the Badia [desert] of Syria [in the east of this country].
ISIS officially claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement on Friday.
Al-Akhbar wrote: In the months of April and May, during the mushroom picking season, ISIS attacked the three provinces of Raqqa (north), Deir ez-Zor (east), Hama (center-north), and even Homs (center), and after that, following the army’s cleanup operation in the area and the destruction of positions and tools and weapons of ISIS elements, their attacks decreased. But after four months of relative peace in Badia, ISIS resumed attacks and attacked the Syrian army in the area of Madan Atiq on the border of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces.
Al-Akhbar wrote: In this context, field sources told Al-Akhbar that the recent escalation of the confrontation between Russia and America was mostly concentrated in the Al-Tanf region and its surroundings. Russia has emphasized that the United States has given new support to ISIS elements in the “55 km” [Tanf] area and encouraged them to launch new attacks on the Syrian army from this area.
The location of al-Tanf in Syria and a radius of 55 km (Al Jazeera)
These sources told Al-Akhbar: “The significant increase in ISIS attacks on the positions of the Syrian army and the absence of these elements in the areas occupied by the United States proved the accuracy of the Russian information. The United States has increased indirect support to these elements in order to put pressure on the Syrian army, the Russians, and the Iranians in Badia, which is the point of contact between Syria and Iraq, until its [United States] forces, which are being established by Russia, are ready. … The Syrian army and its allies will definitely stand in the way of such projects and with the start of the cleanup, they will destroy any nucleus of Daesh in the region.
Tanf is a region in the border triangle of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan, which the US tried to prevent the clearing of southeast Syria and the establishment of communication between Iraq and Syria by occupying it, but it did not succeed, but at the same time, it has deployed troops there and is training armed elements.
Recently, informed sources have emphasized that the US plans to cut the borderline between Syria and Iraq. “James Jeffrey,” the former US envoy to Syria, admitted that the country’s forces will not leave Syria, “We are present in al-Tanf [Syria] to cut off the main route between Damascus and Tehran in the south [Syria]. During the Trump era, there were also moves to put pressure on Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
