{"id":53667,"date":"2019-02-06T22:24:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T22:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/06\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:15:48","slug":"cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/02\/06\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\/","title":{"rendered":"Cornered in Syria, ISIS lays groundwork for a new insurgency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BEIRUT \u2014 The Islamic State gunmen came out of hiding in the middle of the night and set up a checkpoint on a rural road in eastern Syria. For several hours, they stopped those passing and searched through their mobile phones to check their allegiances, until they vanished again into the desert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One young man, an education worker, got through the checkpoint safely. But when he got to his destination in the next village, the threat was waiting for him. An ISIS loyalist told him: Don\u2019t remove pro-ISIS graffiti from school walls or you will pay the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incident, one of many similar ones in past weeks, sent a bigger message \u2014 the Islamic State group may have lost almost all its territory, but it hasn&#8217;t left.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/02\/06\/trump-predicts-isis-will-lose-last-of-its-land-as-early-as-next-week\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4833765.jpg_b77888.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump predicts ISIS will lose last of its land as early as next week<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Pentagon officials have said the extremist group still hold small pockets of territory in the Middle East, presenting a continued threat.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group&#8217;s once-sprawling caliphate has been reduced to a remote scrap of land in Syria&#8217;s eastern desert, where a few hundred battle-hardened fighters are making a final stand against U.S.-backed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in liberated areas across Syria and Iraq, sleeper cells are carrying out assassinations, setting up flying checkpoints and distributing fliers as they lay the groundwork for an insurgency that could gain strength as U.S. forces withdraw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump has vowed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/12\/19\/troops-may-immediately-withdrawal-from-syria-as-trump-declares-victory-over-isis\/\" target=_blank>withdraw American forces from Syria<\/a>, saying the militants are all but defeated. \u201cAs we work with our allies to destroy the remnants of ISIS, it is time to give our brave warriors in Syria a warm welcome home,\u201d he said in his State of the Union address Tuesday, referring to the group by another acronym.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2019\/02\/06\/pentagon-officials-syria-withdrawal-heightens-isis-risks\/\" target=_blank>Defense Department has warned<\/a> that ISIS could stage a comeback in Syria within six months to a year if the military and counterterrorism pressure on it is eased. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2019\/02\/05\/centcom-chief-says-trump-did-not-consult-him-on-syria-withdrawal-declaration\/\" target=_blank>Gen. Joseph Votel<\/a>, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, told a Senate committee Tuesday that battlefield gains can only be secured by \u201cmaintaining a vigilant offensive,\u201d saying ISIS still has \u201cleaders, fighters, facilitators, resources and the profane ideology that fuels their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He estimated there are between 1,000 and 1,500 ISIS fighters in the small area they still control, but said others have \u201cdispersed\u201d and \u201cgone to ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"721\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19037509081199.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-92132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19037509081199.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19037509081199.jpg.jpg?resize=300,180 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19037509081199.jpg.jpg?resize=768,461 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19037509081199.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,615 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This frame grab from video posted online Jan. 18, 2019, by supporters of the Islamic State group, purports to show an ISIS fighter firing a weapon during clashes with members of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour, Syria. (Militant Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Activists who closely follow the conflict in Syria already point to signs of a growing insurgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rami Abdurrahman, the head of Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says ISIS still has 4,000 to 5,000 fighters, many likely hiding out in desert caves and mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Observatory said the militants have assassinated more than 180 people since August, including commanders in the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led militia that drove the militants from much of northeastern Syria, and nearly 50 civilians working with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The campaign has unfolded across northern and eastern Syria, in areas where the militants were defeated months or even years ago. An ISIS bombing attack last month <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/01\/18\/pentagon-identifies-three-americans-killed-in-syria\/\" target=_blank>killed four U.S. soldiers and contractors<\/a> in Manbij \u2014 a town in northern Syria that was liberated in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other areas, the group has adopted tactics that are less lethal but just as chilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fliers appeared in a village in Syria\u2019s oil-rich Deir el-Zour province last summer, warning residents that ISIS still controlled nearby oil fields and that \u201canyone found to steal from them&#8230; should only blame themselves.\u201d Other fliers sparked a mass desertion by local volunteers for the SDF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was unclear what would happen to (ISIS) in the future, but I think the U.S. withdrawal in Syria increased the chances for an IS resurgence by manifold,\u201d said Hassan Hassan, an expert on ISIS who is originally from eastern Syria and is now a senior fellow at the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISIS could also stage a resurgence in neighboring Iraq, where the group originated and where it has operated in various forms going back to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The Islamic State of Iraq, a precursor, had been largely dismantled and held no territory when President Barack Obama withdrew American forces in 2011. Three years later, ISIS seized vast swaths of northern and western Iraq in a matter of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Syria is less hospitable for ISIS. The group\u2019s brutality and foreign roots alienated many Syrians, and it faces competition from other Sunni insurgent groups, like the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. But unlike Iraq, Syria has large, ungoverned areas opened up by the civil war. \u201cSyria will remain in part a place where (ISIS) could retreat and hide because there is still space in Syria,\u201d Hassan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The extremists have a long history of exploiting security vacuums, and may find another one in the coming months as U.S. troops leave Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/02\/05\/turkeys-erdogan-slams-us-over-delays-in-syria-buffer-zone\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4886900.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Turkey\u2019s Erdogan slams US over delays in Syria buffer zone<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Turkey\u2019s president heavily criticized the U.S. on Tuesday over delays in establishing a buffer zone in Syria, saying that if Washington won\u2019t contribute to the effort, Ankara will do it alone.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey views the Kurdish forces in the SDF as an extension of the insurgency it is battling at home, and has vowed to launch a military offensive against them. President Bashar Assad, who also has forces in the area, has vowed to bring all of Syria\u2019s territory back under state control. An outbreak of fighting would sap forces from the struggle against ISIS and generate the kind of chaos in which the group thrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Imagine what (could) happen if one third of Syria changes hands from one security apparatus to another,&#8221; Hassan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The experience of the education worker who was warned not to remove graffiti was documented by Omar Abou Layla, a Europe-based activist who runs DeirEzzor24, a media collective that reports from eastern Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He says ISIS loyalists have infiltrated the Kurdish-run administration, exploiting both local Arab resentment at Kurdish rule and the Kurds\u2019 eagerness to recruit Arab allies. He says his group has documented nearly 20 cases in which former ISIS civil servants have returned to their jobs. It has also documented a number of recent assassinations by ISIS, including the killing of an Arab SDF commander and a man who works in money transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDaesh will be there even if they vanish physically,\u201d he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. \u201cThere are cells everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Islamic State gunmen came out of hiding in the middle of the night and set up a checkpoint on a rural road in eastern Syria. For several hours, they stopped those passing and searched through their mobile phones to check their allegiances, until they vanished again into the desert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":92126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,12,26,62],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1213],"class_list":["post-53667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"24SAUDNE5JGMBNBSBXWTSQA2XA","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2019\/02\/06\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cornered in Syria, ISIS lays groundwork for a new insurgency - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Islamic State gunmen came out of hiding in the middle of the night and set up a checkpoint on a rural road in eastern Syria. 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For several hours, they stopped those passing and searched through their mobile phones to check their allegiances, until they vanished again into the desert.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/02\/06\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-06T22:24:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T09:15:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sarah El Deeb, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sarah El Deeb, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Cornered in Syria, ISIS lays groundwork for a new insurgency\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-06T22:24:07+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T09:15:48+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1050,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/cornered-in-syria-isis-lays-groundwork-for-a-new-insurgency\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19037509132062.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; 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