An informed source confirmed a series of meetings between representatives of Western security agencies and field leaders of ISIS in Syria during this year.
Russian news agency Sputnik reported that representatives from the United States, France, Britain, and several regional countries met with ISIS field leaders and other "terrorist" groups in the Al-Tanf area occupied by the United States in southeastern Syria, as well as in neighboring countries, since the beginning of the year. The source indicated that, based on reliable information, these meetings addressed intensifying attacks on Syrian government forces and Iranian-affiliated armed groups, as well as on Russian military bases in Syria, alongside Christian churches and mosques of various denominations.
According to the source, an agreement was reached to provide terrorist groups with funding, technology, ammunition, and modern weapon systems. It was noted that the use of sleeper cells of these terrorist organizations in southern and southwestern Syria, as well as in major cities in central Syria, is planned. The source pointed out that the priority targets decided for the terrorists, who are acting on orders from Western intelligence agencies, are Russian military personnel in Syria. It was highlighted that ISIS militants transferred from Iraq and released from temporary detention centers in Kurdish-controlled areas west of the Euphrates River are undergoing special training under the supervision of American trainers, and they will be utilized to carry out attacks, according to the source.
It appears that Syria is among the sensitive geopolitical points where forces hostile to Russia are currently trying to exert pressure on Moscow, alongside escalating conflicts in Eastern Ukraine, Crimea, and Transnistria, in addition to encouraging Turkey to return as an active ally of Washington and NATO in the region.
It is noteworthy that the city of Al-Hasakah has recently experienced noticeable activity from American helicopters during late-night hours, amid reports of helicopters transferring ISIS detainees in batches to the Syrian-Iraqi border. American helicopters have been daily transporting groups of ISIS detainees from the Ghuwayran and Al-Sina'a prisons in Al-Hasakah towards their bases in Iraq, where a number of prisoners, mostly Iraqi, are gathered daily in the sports city in the Ghuwayran neighborhood and transported by helicopters under American management and supervision.
It has been confirmed that more than 100 detainees were transported towards the Iraqi border, with their release after being armed to carry out attacks on Syrian army positions and their allies in the Syrian and Iraqi deserts. Reports indicate that during the last quarter of the previous year, several dozen ISIS detainees were transferred from the Al-Shaddadi and Al-Hasakah prisons to the 55 km area in Al-Tanf and were recruited to launch attacks on Syrian army positions in the desert.
The increase in recent ISIS cells' activities in the desert is attributed to the transfers carried out by the American occupation army to the area, in order to reactivate ISIS and maintain the pretext for their forces to remain in Syria and Iraq under the guise of fighting the organization. Sources explain that the recent resurgence of ISIS cells in the Syrian desert is due to the transfer of ISIS detainees from prisons to the desert to organize their attacks in the area.
In addition, the Al-Hawl camp, which houses hundreds of families of ISIS detainees of various nationalities, has seen increased activity, with six assassination cases recorded within the camp since the beginning of the current year against Kurdish "Asayish" fighters. Residents of the camp, who are mostly Syrian, express concern about the possibility of weapons being smuggled into the camp, which would pose a danger of expanding ISIS activities and the potential declaration of a caliphate in the camp, threatening the safety of the camp and all local residents.
There are approximately 12,000 ISIS detainees held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of whom about 2,500 to 3,000 originate from 54 different nationalities, in addition to around 5,000 Iraqis. The Al-Hawl camp (40 km east of Al-Hasakah) is home to about 70,000 people, the majority of whom are Iraqi, including around 12,000 wives and children of ISIS detainees.
