Syria’s new security forces have passed an important milestone in operating against extremists. They are now cooperating with the US Central Command against ISIS. This is not the first time they have cooperated with the United States, though this is the first major public cooperation against ISIS.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) head Adm. Brad Cooper said, “This successful operation ensures gains made against ISIS are lasting and [that] the group is not able to regenerate or export terrorist attacks to the US homeland and around the world.”
The Syrian security forces have had to be rebuilt from the ground up after the fall of the Assad regime. The group that came to power, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), brought with it an impressive military organization. However, it was organized to fight the regime and needed to be modernized to run a state. Now Syria has trained thousands of soldiers, as well as police and other security forces. The results of this training is paying off.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa recently visited Washington. After he met with US President Donald Trump, reports said that Syria would officially join the US-led Coalition against ISIS. That mission is known as Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF -OIR). US Central Command is the umbrella military area under which these operations take place.
CENTCOM noted that “forces from US Central Command and that the Syrian Interior Ministry located and destroyed over 15 sites containing ISIS weapons caches in southern Syria, from November 24 to 27.” The statement said “US military personnel from Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) worked with Syrian forces in identifying and eliminating the ISIS weapons storage facilities across the Rif Damashq province during multiple airstrikes and ground detonations.”
US partners with Syrian forces in joint ISIS operations
This shows that they were working relatively close to Damascus and illustrates how the US is now able to partner with the Syrian government forces in areas where it has not operated openly in the past.
The US role in Syria was often confined to eastern Syria, where the US worked with the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF is mostly led by Kurds.
The US also had forces at a lonely outpost garrison called Tanf in southern Syria, near the Jordanian and Iraqi border. At this post, the US has backed several small Syrian rebel groups since 2016. Those groups are now part of a new Syrian interior ministry force after having joined a Syrian military division. As such, the US wants to partner with the new Syrian security forces and be able to help them against ISIS.
The United States has carried out raids and airstrikes in the past against extremist groups in areas of northern Syria, such as Idlib and Afrin. However, using helicopter-borne raids and airstrikes is not always a magic wand. Things can go wrong. Also, extreme precision is needed. The US has often used what are called “ninja” missiles, a type of Hellfire AGM114R9X missile that has blades rather than a munition. With the Syrians, the US can now apparently raid where it needs and share information.
Syrian state media SANA said “Syrian security forces have arrested several members of ISIS during operations in the northern and western countryside of Idleb, the Interior Ministry reported Monday. Weapons, ammunition, explosive belts, and improvised explosive devices were also seized.”
SANA added that “Brig.-Gen. Ghassan Bakir, head of Internal Security in Idleb, said in a statement that the operations, carried out in cooperation with the General Intelligence Directorate, had targeted ISIS cells in the Dana area in the north of the province and west of Idleb city. The raids were part of ongoing efforts by Syrian authorities to dismantle terrorist networks in the region.”
The Syrian officer added that the operations had “uncovered the involvement of some cell members in the killing of a civilian near Maarrat Misrin.” He reported that two suspects were killed during the raids after refusing to surrender, while the others were taken into custody.” Detainees were handed over to Syrian judicial authorities, indicating that the US trusts Syria’s process.
The CENTCOM report noted that “the combined operation destroyed over 130 mortars and rockets, multiple assault rifles, machine guns, anti-tank mines, and materials for building improvised explosive devices. Forces also discovered and destroyed illicit drugs.”
US CENTCOM head Cooper noted, “We will remain vigilant and continue to aggressively pursue ISIS remnants in Syria.”