US military says ISIS attacks in Iraq, Syria on pace to double in 2024 in an attempt to "reconstitute"
Shafaq News/ The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said that ISIS attacks in Iraq and Syria are on track to double in 2024 compared to the previous year, indicating that the hardline militant group is trying to rebuild its capabilities.
ISIS claimed responsibility for 153 attacks in both countries during the first half of 2024, according to CENTCOM. This compares to 121 attacks reported throughout 2023, a US defense official told The Associated Press.
"The increase in attacks indicates ISIS is attempting to reconstitute following several years of decreased capability," CENTCOM said in a statement.
"To continue the effort to defeat ISIS and prevent its ability to conduct external attacks, United States Central Command, along with our Defeat ISIS partners, Iraqi Security Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces, conducted 196 Defeat ISIS Missions, resulting in 44 ISIS operatives killed and 166 detained in the first half of 2024. In Iraq, 137 partnered operations resulted in 30 ISIS operatives killed and 74 ISIS operatives detained. In Syria, 59 operations conducted alongside the SDF and other partners resulted in 14 ISIS operatives killed and 92 ISIS operatives detained." CENTCOM said.
Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition of 80 countries, defeated ISIS territorially in 2017. The group has carried out lower-scale attacks since then, particularly in remote areas of the Diyala, Saladin, Nineveh, and Kirkuk, including in areas that are disputed between the federal and Kurdistan Region governments.
The recent ISIS activity comes as the Iraqi government seeks the withdrawal of US forces from the country. There are around 2,500 US military personnel in Iraq as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has repeatedly said the coalition is no longer necessary and that it is time to implement a withdrawal. The two countries began a dialogue on the issue late last year.
American officials maintain that ISIS remains a threat in Iraq, albeit less so than in years past. In its report on ISIS for the fourth quarter of 2023, the US Defense Department's Office of Inspector General described ISIS as "largely contained."
"ISIS is still a threat here, much, much diminished, but nevertheless, our work is essentially not done and we want to ensure that Iraqi forces can continue the enduring defeat of ISIS," US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski told Reuters in March.
Gen. Michael Kurilla, who heads US Central Command, told Congress the same month that US intelligence estimates there to be around 1,000 ISIS fighters at large in Iraq.
The United Nations' mission to investigate alleged genocide and war crimes by ISIS will end in September. Reuters reported in March that the mission, known as UNITAD, will close in September amid disputes with the Iraqi government over evidence-sharing and the death penalty. UNITAD's work was expected to last several more years.
ISIS killed thousands of civilians when it swept through northern Iraq in 2014 and particularly targeted ethnic and religious minority groups. Some members of these communities have been critical of UNITAD's work coming to a close.
