MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA Views from the Frontline: ISIS Still Poses a Danger OE Watch Commentary: Despite losing its territorial control, the Islamic State of Iraq and (ISIS) still poses a threat. The accompanying articles from Kurdish sources based in Iraq and Syria shed light on ISIS’s resurgence and capabilities in the region. Many of the group’s fighters and sympathizers had dispersed across Iraq and Syria or gone underground before it received the final blow by opposing forces. Now, it appears that those fighters are resorting to insurgency, rather than striving to control territory, as evidenced by recent attacks in Iraq and Syria. The first article provides the views of Peshmerga commander Wasta Rasul on the situation of ISIS in Iraq. Peshmerga are the military forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and have been instrumental in fighting ISIS in Iraq. As the commander states, “ISIS has not really been uprooted. The group has only lost the territory it ruled. It has completely regrouped and is stronger than before.” The SDF firing on an ISIS camp, 4 March 2019. article points out that ISIS sleeper cells “continue to launch insurgent Source: VOA via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SDF_MG_in_Baghuz,_4_March_2019.png, Public Domain. attacks” on Kurdish and Iraqi forces, noting “the towns of Rashad and Hawija west of Kirkuk in particular have seen an uptick in insurgent activity.” The commander notes that on 27 June, twin explosions hit Kirkuk city center, and “ISIS has also claimed responsibility for crop fires on the outskirts of Kirkuk city.” These indicate that ISIS sleeper cells are still present and active in Iraq, especially in Sunni neighborhoods. The second article from Kurdish news agency Hawar features an interview with Enwer Muslim, the Co-Chair of the Executive Council of the Region, a governing body within the self-proclaimed autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria. Muslim claims that even though ISIS lost on the battlefield, its ideology stands strong across the region. The article points out that the (SDF), a mostly Kurdish force supported by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, are currently detaining over 70,000 family members of ISIS fighters, some of whom still insist on ISIS ideology and firmly hold onto hope of living under ISIS rule. Remnants of ISIS fighters are also present in the Syrian cities of Idlib, , and Afrin, with some forming sleeper cells and some joining other groups sharing similar extremist ideology. Muslim calls on the international community to remain vigilant and support the SDF’s efforts in combating ISIS and ISIS-like groups.End OE Watch Commentary (Gündüz) “ISIS has not really been uprooted. The group has only lost the territory it ruled. It has completely regrouped and is stronger than before.”

Source: “ISIS has ‘completely regrouped, stronger than before’: Peshmerga chief,” Rudaw.net, 29 June 2019. https://www.rudaw.net/english/ kurdistan/290620191

Islamic State (ISIS) militants still pose a threat to Iraq’s disputed territories, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, a Peshmerga commander warned Friday, a day after twin blasts struck Kirkuk city center… ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, but its sleeper cells and armed remnants continue to launch insurgent attacks, exploiting security gaps between Iraqi and Peshmerga lines… “ISIS has not really been uprooted. The group has only lost the territory it ruled. It has completely regrouped and is stronger than before,” Rasul warned… Militants have launched several recent attacks across the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad. The towns of Rashad and Hawija west of Kirkuk in particular have seen an uptick in insurgent activity. On Thursday, two improvised explosive devices were detonated on two public buses in Kirkuk city center, killing one and injuring 17. The provincial council blamed the attack on ISIS remnants. ISIS has also claimed responsibility for a rash of crop fires on the outskirts of Kirkuk city.

Source: Semêr Osman and Zana Seydî, “Enwer Muslim: DAİŞ halen tüm dünya için büyük bir tehdit (Enwer Muslim: ISIS is still a big threat for the whole world),” hawarnews.com, 24 June 2019. https://www.hawarnews.com/tr/haber/enwer-muslim-dais-halen-tum-dunya-icin- buyuk-bir-tehdit-h15074.html ISIS does not seem to end so easily. It lost its military power, but its ideology still continues. Approximately 70,000 ISIS family members are being detained by the SDF forces and [they] insist on their ideology. Again, thousands of people carrying the ideology of ISIS thugs are in Syria’s cities of Idlib, Ezaz and Efrîn… The whole world must be aware of [ISIS resurgence]. Again, international public opinion should be supportive of the Autonomous Administration regarding ISIS detainees who are detained by the SDF and remain in the camps. These thugs who played a role in civilian massacres against our people should be tried in international courts. ISIS gangs should be tried because they commit crimes against humanity. An international court should be established in Syria.

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