How the US is countering ISIS during Syria’s upheaval

Massive U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Syria were meant in part as a message to the group and a move to ensure that it doesn’t try to take advantage of the chaos following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government .

The U.S. and its partners want to make sure the Islamic State group, which still has a presence in Syria, can’t step into the leadership void and once again exert control over wide swaths of the country, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Monday. The U.S. on Sunday struck about 75 IS targets in the Syrian desert.

The U.S. has had troops in Syria for the last decade to battle IS. The tumult following a rebel offensive that toppled Assad has raised fears of an Islamic State resurgence.

“ISIS will try to use this period to reestablish its capabilities, to create safe havens,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, using another acronym for the group. “As our precision strikes over the weekend demonstrate, we are determined not to let that happen.”

So far, U.S. officials are saying that they do not plan an increase in American forces in Syria but are focused on making sure those already there are safe .

Here’s a look at the U.S. fight against the Islamic State group :

What's the U.S. military presence in Syria?

The U.S. has about 900 troops and an undisclosed number of contractors in Syria, largely at small bases in the north and east, with a small number farther south at the al-Tanf garrison closer to the Iraq and Jordan borders .

U.S. special operations forces also routinely move in and out of the country but are usually in small teams and are not included in the official count.

Islamic State militants seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 , declaring a caliphate. The U.S. gathered a coalition of allies and was able to defeat IS in Iraq in 2017. The U.S. partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, and after fierce fighting, ultimately declared an end to the caliphate in Syria in 2019.

Remnants of the militant group remain, including as many as 10,000 fighters held in SDF-run detention facilities in Syria and tens of thousands of their family members living in refugee camps.

And IS fighters have been more active over the past year or so, including in attacks against U.S. and Kurdish forces in Syria.

The country has been wracked by violence and competing interests. Russia has a naval port in the north, and while there have been fewer Russian forces in the area since the onset of the war in Ukraine , the U.S. maintains a deconfliction phoneline with Moscow to avoid any troop miscalculations on the ground or in the air.

Iran also has had a significant presence, often using Syria as a transit route to move weapons into Lebanon for use by Hezbollah militants against Israel.

The al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria is located on a vital road that can link Iranian-backed forces from Tehran all the way to southern Lebanon and Israel’s doorstep. So troops at the U.S. garrison can try and disrupt those shipments.

Why is the U.S. striking Islamic State targets?

The U.S. has, over the past decade, routinely targeted IS leaders, camps and weapons in Syria to keep the group at bay and prevent it from coalescing.

In the past year, as Israel’s war with Hamas widened into a broader conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, attacks by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria as well as by the Islamic State group have escalated.

As a result, the U.S. has kept up a steady drumbeat of counterattacks against all the groups, including against IS camps in the desert, where fighters found safe haven.

Syrian opposition fighters stand atop a seized Syrian army armored vehicle in the outskirts of Hama, Syria, on Dec. 3. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

Officials say that while the group is vastly weaker than in 2014, it still maintains thousands of militants in Syria .

On Sunday, the U.S. launched one of its larger, more expansive assaults against IS camps and operatives in the desert, taking advantage of the Assad government’s downfall. The U.S. bombed at least 75 targets in about five locations using B-52 bombers, A-10 attack aircraft and F-15 fighter jets.

“Does it send a message? I mean, I think it absolutely sends a message that we use B-52s, A-10s and F-15s,” Singh told reporters. She had no other details on the result of the strikes.

What's next for the U.S. in Syria?

The Biden administration insists the U.S. will not get involved in Syria's war or the overthrow of the Assad government. But the U.S. and its allies have deep interests in Syria, including the efforts to defeat IS, disrupt Iran-backed groups and contain the remnants of al-Qaida and other terror groups that have found sanctuary.

“I think it is a harbinger of more instability and the potential for more political violence,” Chris Costa, former senior director for counterterrorism in the first Trump administration, said last week before the fall of Damascus. Costa spent decades in the U.S. Army and ran special operations in combat zones. “I think there’s the potential for ISIS again to make trouble not just for the Iraqis but also be emboldened in the region.”

Alex Younger, who led Britain’s foreign intelligence agency, MI6, between 2014 and 2020, said a big concern is the "very large number of ISIS detainees left over from the destruction of the caliphate.”

Younger told the BBC that IS remnants are “currently contained by the Kurdish groups in the east, but if they go off the job, you can expect a serious spike in the threat posed to Europe by ISIS.”

Who will rule Syria?

Another problem is figuring out who's in charge.

The opposition forces that stormed into Damascus and sent Assad fleeing to Russia are led by a group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham , or HTS, that originally was part of al-Qaida, but split a number of years ago. HTS is considered a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations.

Its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani , has sought to reassure Syrians that the group is more moderate. U.S. officials say that while he may be saying some of the right things, they are adopting a wait-and-see attitude for now.

White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, told CNN News Central on Monday that while HTS “was the vanguard” they aren't the only opposition group involved.

“We’re going to be working through all the processes we can, including at the U.N., to make sure that there is adequate communication with these opposition groups and that we are all working together,” he said.

Singh said she is not aware of any formal U.S. channel of communications with the group. But, she said, “We have other ways of getting messages through, you know, groups and other allies in the region.”

Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker and Sagar Meghani in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

美国对叙利亚境内的伊斯兰国武装分子发动大规模空袭，部分原因是为了向该组织发出警告，并确保该组织不会试图利用巴沙尔·阿萨德总统政府被推翻后的混乱局面。

美国五角大楼发言人萨布丽娜·辛格周一表示，美国及其盟友希望确保在叙利亚仍有势力的“伊斯兰国”组织无法填补领导真空，再次控制该国大片地区。美国周日对叙利亚沙漠地区的约75个“伊斯兰国”目标发动了袭击。

过去十年，美国一直在叙利亚驻军打击伊斯兰国。反叛武装推翻阿萨德政权后引发的动荡局势，加剧了人们对伊斯兰国死灰复燃的担忧。

“伊斯兰国将试图利用这段时间重建其能力，建立安全庇护所，”国务卿安东尼·布林肯周一表示，他使用了该组织的另一个缩写。“正如我们周末的精准打击所表明的那样，我们决心不让这种情况发生。”

目前，美国官员表示，他们没有计划增加在叙利亚的美军人数，而是专注于确保现有美军人员的安全。

以下是美国打击伊斯兰国组织的行动概览：

美国在叙利亚的军事存在情况如何？

美国在叙利亚驻扎了约 900 名士兵和数量不详的承包商，主要驻扎在北部和东部的小型基地，另有少量人员驻扎在更南部的坦夫驻军基地，该基地靠近伊拉克和约旦边境。

美国特种作战部队也经常进出该国，但通常以小队形式行动，不计入官方统计。

2014年，伊斯兰国武装分子占领了伊拉克和叙利亚的大片地区，并宣布建立哈里发国。美国集结盟军，于2017年在伊拉克击败了伊斯兰国。美国与库尔德人领导的叙利亚民主力量（SDF）合作，经过激烈的战斗，最终于2019年宣布叙利亚境内的哈里发国终结。

该武装组织的残余势力仍然存在，其中包括多达 10,000 名被关押在叙利亚民主力量 (SDF) 运营的拘留设施中的武装分子，以及数万名生活在难民营中的他们的家人。

过去一年左右，IS 武装分子更加活跃，包括在叙利亚对美军和库尔德部队发动袭击。

该国饱受暴力冲突和利益冲突之苦。俄罗斯在北部拥有一个海军港口，虽然自乌克兰战争爆发以来，该地区的俄军兵力有所减少，但美国仍与莫斯科保持着一条冲突降级电话热线，以避免地面或空中出现任何兵力部署误判。

伊朗也拥有相当大的影响力，经常利用叙利亚作为中转路线，将武器运往黎巴嫩，供真主党武装分子用来对抗以色列。

位于叙利亚东南部的坦夫驻军地处一条至关重要的道路上，这条道路可以将伊朗支持的武装力量从德黑兰一直延伸到黎巴嫩南部和以色列的家门口。因此，驻扎在该美军基地的部队可以试图破坏这些物资运输。

美国为何要打击伊斯兰国目标？

过去十年间，美国经常以叙利亚境内的“伊斯兰国”领导人、营地和武器为目标，以遏制该组织并防止其集结。

过去一年，随着以色列与哈马斯的战争扩大为与黎巴嫩真主党的更大规模冲突，伊朗支持的伊拉克和叙利亚民兵以及伊斯兰国组织的袭击也随之升级。

因此，美国持续不断地对所有武装组织发动反击，包括对沙漠中伊斯兰国营地发动反击，这些营地是武装分子的避难所。

12月3日，在叙利亚哈马郊区，叙利亚反对派武装人员站在一辆缴获的叙利亚军队装甲车上。（盖斯·阿尔赛义德/美联社）

官员们表示，虽然该组织比 2014 年时实力大为削弱，但它在叙利亚仍然拥有数千名武装分子。

周日，美国趁阿萨德政府垮台之机，对沙漠中的“伊斯兰国”营地和武装分子发动了规模更大、范围更广的空袭。美军动用B-52轰炸机、A-10攻击机和F-15战斗机，轰炸了约五个地点的至少75个目标。

“这是否传递了某种信息？我的意思是，我认为这绝对传递了一个信息，那就是我们使用B-52、A-10和F-15战机，”辛格告诉记者。她没有透露有关空袭结果的其他细节。

美国下一步在叙利亚的行动是什么？

拜登政府坚称美国不会介入叙利亚战争或推翻阿萨德政府。但美国及其盟友在叙利亚有着深厚的利益，包括打击“伊斯兰国”、瓦解伊朗支持的武装组织以及遏制在叙利亚寻求庇护的基地组织残余势力和其他恐怖组织。

“我认为这是局势更加动荡和政治暴力升级的先兆，”克里斯·科斯塔（Chris Costa）上周在叙利亚首都大马士革陷落前表示。科斯塔曾在美国陆军服役数十年，并在战区指挥过特种作战。“我认为这有可能让ISIS再次制造麻烦，不仅给伊拉克人民带来灾难，还会助长其在该地区的发展势头。”科斯塔曾是特朗普第一任期内负责反恐事务的高级主管。

曾于 2014 年至 2020 年领导英国对外情报机构 MI6 的亚历克斯·扬格表示，一个很大的担忧是“在哈里发国被摧毁后遗留下来的大量 ISIS 被拘留者”。

扬格告诉BBC，伊斯兰国残余势力“目前被东部的库尔德武装控制，但如果他们放松警惕，伊斯兰国对欧洲构成的威胁将会急剧上升。”

谁将统治叙利亚？

另一个问题是弄清楚谁负责。

攻入大马士革并迫使阿萨德逃往俄罗斯的反对派武装是由一个名为“沙姆解放组织”（Hayat Tahrir al-Sham，简称HTS）的组织领导的。该组织最初是基地组织的一部分，但多年前分裂出去。美国和联合国均将HTS认定为外国恐怖组织。

该组织领导人艾哈迈德·沙拉（原名阿布·穆罕默德·戈拉尼）试图向叙利亚民众保证，该组织较为温和。美国官员表示，虽然他的一些言论可能不无道理，但他们目前仍持观望态度。

白宫国家安全发言人约翰·柯比周一告诉 CNN 新闻中心，虽然 HTS “是先锋队”，但他们并不是唯一参与其中的反对派组织。

他说：“我们将尽一切可能，包括在联合国等机构开展工作，以确保与这些反对派团体进行充分沟通，并确保我们所有人都在共同努力。”

辛格表示，她并不了解美国与该组织之间是否存在任何正式的沟通渠道。但她也表示，“我们还有其他途径，比如通过该地区的其他组织和盟友传递信息。”

美联社驻华盛顿记者埃里克·塔克和萨加尔·梅加尼以及驻伦敦记者吉尔·劳利斯对本报道亦有贡献。