Daesh Used US Pullout from Syria to Regroup - Pentagon Report

By Staff, Agencies

A new internal report from the Pentagon said Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] exploited the withdrawal of US forces from Syria, along with Turkey’s subsequent offensive, to regroup and strengthen its abilities to carry out terror attacks abroad, NBC network reported on Tuesday.

The US War Department watchdog’s report stated that Daesh is likely to rebound from the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a US operation in October.

The report from the Pentagon's inspector general further claimed that the current regional forces of Turkey, Russia and Syria do not intend to place the war on Daesh at the top of their priorities, including the so-called Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF].

The apparent “void” left by the US pullout from northeast Syria gave Daesh more freedom to rebuild, NBC added.

An Intelligence Agency analysis of open sources said that “Daesh exploited the Turkish incursion and subsequent drawdown of US troops to reconstitute capabilities and resources within Syria and strengthen its ability to plan attacks abroad,” according to the report.

Moreover, 100 to 200 Daesh prisoners managed to escape detention camps in northeast Syria following Turkey’s incursion.

The terror group is continuing to rebuild its strength in Iraq as well, the report noted, but is yet far from establishing a substantial force on the ground or synchronizing its efforts with much success.