US will stay in Syrian Kurdistan to counter IS resurgence: Pentagon

Daniel Shapiro, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense for the Middle East, 2024. Photo: United States Department of Defense

MANAMA, Bahrain,— The United States will continue its military presence in Syrian Kurdistan, eastern Syria, to prevent the Islamic State (ISIS) from regaining strength, according to Daniel Shapiro, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East.

Speaking at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain on Sunday, Shapiro emphasized that Washington would take necessary steps to thwart any ISIS resurgence.

“We are aware of the volatile situation on the ground in Syria, which could create space for ISIS to revive its operations, plan external attacks, and destabilize the region,” Shapiro stated.

He assured that the U.S. would work with its partners to ensure that ISIS remains defeated and that captured fighters are securely detained. The U.S. also remains focused on repatriating displaced persons from the conflict.

Shapiro’s comments came shortly after Syrian rebels claimed to have overthrown Bashar al-Assad’s government. He urged all factions in the country to protect civilians, particularly minority groups, and to uphold international standards during the ongoing conflict.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a key Islamist rebel group that has been advancing in western Syria, has ties to al-Qaeda as the Nusra Front. However, its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, broke away from the global jihadist movement in 2016.

Despite this split, HTS is still designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and other Western nations. The situation presents a complex challenge for the international community, which must decide how to engage with Syria’s new administration, where HTS influence is growing.

The U.S. has also supported Kurdish forces, particularly the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the YPG, which have been the most effective in fighting ISIS.

The YPG, the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the de facto army of the autonomous administration in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), has been central to securing large parts of Syria from ISIS control. The Kurdish forces were responsible for driving ISIS out of its last stronghold in Baghouz, Syria, in March 2019.

Despite significant victories, the fight against ISIS has been costly. Over 11,000 Kurdish fighters, both men and women, have died in the effort to dismantle ISIS’s “caliphate,” which once spanned large parts of Syria and Iraq. Additionally, an estimated 12,000 suspected ISIS members remain in Kurdish prisons, held since the group’s defeat in 2019.

As the situation in Syria remains fluid, the U.S. and its allies are committed to preventing the return of ISIS and maintaining stability in the region.

(With files from Reuters)