A question is being raised after the recent killing of two American soldiers and a civilian translator in central Syria by a follower of the extremist “Islamic State” group.
The killer had infiltrated the Syrian security forces. How many others in the Syrian security forces might hold similar extremist views?
“The attack highlights flaws in the Syrian government’s intelligence capabilities, a known weakness given its lack of personnel and resources and the country’s geographical instability,” Syrian researcher and journalist Subhi Franjieh wrote for the London-based media outlet. Al Majalla shortly afterwards.
“The Palmyra attack can be used to argue that the Syrian government is compromised and cannot be trusted in key areas such as counter-terrorism.”
Franjieh points out that, although Syria joined the US-led global coalition fighting the “Islamic State” in November, the international coalition is so far cooperating only with the Syrian interior ministry, not the local defense ministry. The latter is not yet fully established and considered secure.
Just over a week after the killings of Americans in Palmyra, the “IS” group published a message on its Telegram channel, calling the deaths a “blow” to the US and any Syrians who oppose it. However, it did not claim direct responsibility, and it appears that – like the two who recently targeted a Jewish synagogue in Australia – the attack may have been “inspired” by the extremist group.
Soldiers sympathizing with IS?
Experts agree that there may be other individuals within the Syrian security forces who are sympathetic to or inspired by the “IS” group.
He says one of the main problems is that the Syrian government is trying to quickly establish a new army after the country’s Bashar Assad dictatorship is ousted in December 2024.
Immediately after the Palmyra attack, an Interior Ministry spokesman said 5,000 new recruits had been added to its forces in the area where the attack took place. When the “IS” group was at the height of its power, it controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, including Palmyra.
The spokesperson also said that those personnel were evaluated weekly and that “IS” supporters who had killed Americans and a Syrian officer were already on the watch list. He was to be fired the day after the attack.
Jerome Dravon, an expert on Islamic extremism at the International Crisis Group, a think tank, told last week that the new Syrian authorities were forced to choose between quickly recruiting more people or a slower, more thorough vetting process. Executives went for the faster option, but, as Dravon told the UK-based publication arab weeklySome of their recruits “may be more radical, willing to fight American troops because they oppose the government’s decision to reach out to Western countries.”
Additionally, as Masoud Al Hakri, a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Wrote earlier this yearHayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the militia led by Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Shaara, was previously linked to both the “IS” group and al-Qaeda. Over time, HTS broke ties with those groups and even fought “IS” in territory under its control, but, as Al Hakri says, HTS likely “still harbors extremists sympathetic to ‘IS’ ideology.”
‘IS’ is hiding in the Syrian desert!
It is estimated that there are still about 2,500 “IS” fighters in Iraq and Syria, most of whom are in hiding or in sleeper cells. Due to the difficulty of ensuring safety, the remote Syrian desert has long been a favorite location for them.
Over the weekend, the US carried out more than 70 strikes in Syria, most of them on remote areas north of Palmyra. US President Donald Trump said the US raids were a “very serious retaliation” for the Palmyra attack. Reports say that five people died as a result.
PRIF’s al-Hakri points out that there are thousands of former “IS” members in prison camps in northern Syria who pose a threat. But the most important factor that makes the “IS” group such a threat is the economic, political and security environment in the country, he and other experts say.
The Syrian dictatorship was overthrown after a 14-year civil war, and the new Syrian authorities still do not have full control of security in the country. In some areas, there is fighting between the new authorities and minority communities, increasing security issues. The extremely difficult economic environment also creates dissatisfaction.
“All of this creates fertile ground for IS to take advantage of the lack of governance and public unrest, establish itself as an alternative form of governance, and expand its influence,” al-Hakri says.
“IS” attacks on government areas have increased since the change of government, and other experts say the group’s followers now deliberately seek to undermine the new authorities.
For example, Syrian security forces say that in late November, they found an “IS” cell in Latakia. Latakia is actually populated primarily by the Alawite minority, a group “IS” followers can usually classify as infidels. Alawites are considered to be associated with the former dictatorship as the Assad family was also Alawite and have been targeted as a result. Alawite neighborhoods are unstable and ripe for unrest.
Last weekend, two gunmen fired randomly at people on a street in a fairly remote village in central Syria, near the city of Salamiyah. The area is predominantly home to another minority, the Ismailis, and although no one knows who was responsible, the mayor of Salamiyah said he thinks the “IS” group may have done it.
However, overall eliminating the threat posed by the “IS” group in Syria will take time, if it is indeed possible to eradicate extremist ideology.
“The threat posed by IS terrorists in Syria is more serious than in any other country in the region,” says Al Hakri.