ISIS claims Idlib comeback after four years of the ‘caliphate’

Syrian regime troops are currently waging a fierce assault against other extremists and rebels in Idlib province, and in the chaos, ISIS appears to have gained a foothold.

On January 10, ISIS media channels began claiming hit-and-run attacks against Syrian government forces in Idlib, from which the group was ousted in 2014.

Two days later, Daesh officially declared Idlib one of its Islamic “governorates” and has published news of raids against Syrian troops there with increasing pace everyday.

Most notably, the organisation claims to have killed around two dozen soldiers and taken nearly 20 hostage from an area near the key Abu Duhur military airport in Idlib.

“There are probably hundreds, maybe over 1,000 [Daesh militants] at most. A number of Daesh guys who fled territory elsewhere made it to this enclave via smuggling,” said Aymenn Al Tamimi, an academic and expert on the group.

Tamimi told AFP the new Idlib presence was an “extension” of Daesh small but established bastion in neighbouring Hama province.

More than four years ago, Daesh operated an Islamic “governorate” in Idlib, but it was kicked out of the province in early 2014 by Islamist fighters and allied rebels.

Those fighters went on to oust the regime from the province too, as Daesh extended its Islamic “caliphate” across swathes of Iraq and Syria — but not Idlib.

Source: Jordan Times