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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">Reviving ISIS: A US weapon against the Resistance Axis</h1><p class="gmail-">Is
it a coincidence that the world's foremost terror organization is being
revived just as the US struggles under a multi-front assault on its
hegemony in West Asia? More curiously, both ISIS and Washington's
targets are exactly the same.</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://new.thecradle.co/authors/the-cradles-iraq-correspondent-48" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">The Cradle's Iraq Correspondent</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>JAN 16, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/reviving-isis-a-us-weapon-against-the-resistance-axis">https://new.thecradle.co/articles/reviving-isis-a-us-weapon-against-the-resistance-axis</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/5eb50e5a-b48e-11ee-ad8b-00163e02c055.jpeg" alt="" width="391" height="185" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>Photo Credit: The Cradle</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><p style="margin-left:0cm">Iraqi
security sources are warning of an ISIS revival in the country, which
coincides all too neatly with the spike in Iraqi resistance operations
against US bases in Iraq and Syria, and with widening regional
instability caused by Israel's military assault on Gaza. </p><p style="margin-left:0cm">More
than six years after declaring victory over the terrorist organization,
Iraqi intelligence reports now indicate that thousands of ISIS fighters
are emerging unscathed, under the protection of US forces in two
regions of western Iraq<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm"><strong>The missing piece of the puzzle</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">According to intelligence reports reviewed by <i>The Cradle</i>,
at its height, ISIS consisted of more than 35,000 fighters in Iraq –
25,000 of these were killed, while more than 10,000 simply “disappeared.<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">”</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">As an officer of one Iraqi intelligence agency recounts to <i>The Cradle:</i> </p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:0cm">"Hundreds
of ISIS fighters fled to Turkey and Syria at the end of 2017. After the
appointment of Abdullah Qardash as the leader of ISIS in 2019,
following the death of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the new Caliph began
to restructure the organization, and ordered his followers to return to
Iraq. The organization exploited the long border with Syria, the
security disturbances, and the diversity of forces on both sides of the
border to infiltrate the Iraqi territory again<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">."</span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left:0cm">Imprisoned
ISIS officials admit that infiltrating that border is not an easy task,
because of the strict control imposed by the Iraqi Border Guards and
the use of modern technologies, such as thermal cameras. </p><p style="margin-left:0cm">It
therefore became necessary for the terror group to identify
intermediaries capable of breaking through or bypassing these
fortifications to transport its fighters across borders<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">. </span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">An Iraqi security source, insisting on anonymity, tells <i>The Cradle</i> that the US plays a vital role in enabling these border violations:</p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:0cm">"[There
are] several incidents that confirm the American assistance in securing
the crossing route for ISIS members - mainly, by shelling Iraqi units
on the border, especially the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), to
create gaps that allow ISIS fighters to cross the border." </p></blockquote><p style="margin-left:0cm">The
Iraqi security source adds that there are confirmed reports of US
Chinook helicopters transporting fighters from eastern Syria to the
Anbar desert in western Iraq and Jebel Hamreen, in the country's east<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Munir
Adib, a researcher specializing in Islamist movements, extremist
organizations, and international terrorism, confirms the possibility of
the return of ISIS after the organization's “dozens of attacks in Syria
and Iraq in the past few weeks,” which led to the death of tens of
civilians and soldiers. </p><p style="margin-left:0cm">According to
Adib, “the international community's preoccupation with the Gaza and
Russia-Ukraine wars gave ISIS an opportunity to reorganize its ranks,
while continuing to receive internal and external logistical support<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.”</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm"><strong>Manufacturing and harboring terrorism</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Houran
Valley is the largest of its kind in Iraq, extending 369 kilometers
from the Iraqi-Saudi border to the Euphrates River near the city of
Haditha in Anbar Governorate. Its topography is marked by soaring cliffs
ranging in height between 150 to 200 meters, and includes the hills
surrounding the valley and the sub-valleys that extend into its
surroundings<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">The
valley was and still is one of the most dangerous security environments
in the state. Terrorist groups use it as a safe haven because of its
desert terrain, and distance from congested urban areas. The valley and
its environs have witnessed numerous security incidents, most notably in
December 2013, when ISIS killed the commander of the Iraqi army's
Seventh Division, his assistant, the director of intelligence in Anbar
Governorate, eight officers, and thirteen soldiers<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Iraqi
MP Hassan Salem has called for launching a military operation to clear
Houran Valley of terrorist fighters. He confirmed to <i>The Cradle</i>
that “there are thousands of ISIS members in the valley receiving
training in private camps, under American protection,” noting that US
forces have “transferred to this area hundreds of ISIS members of
different nationalities<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.”</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">US
foreign policy, of course, is rife with historical evidence of the
creation of proxy armed militias in West Asia and Latin America, often
utilizing these organizations to overthrow governments in target
countries<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">. We know Washington has no
aversion to allying with Islamist extremists largely because of its
direct involvement with arming and financing the Afghan Mujahideen, from
which the Taliban and Al Qaeda emerged.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">An
early US-ISIS connection exists quite clearly: the terrorist group's
founding and second rank leaders were among the inmates of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/04/how-an-american-prison-helped-ignite-the-islamic-state/"><i>Camp Bucca</i></a>
prison in southern Iraq, an internment facility run by the US military.
The roster of high-value terrorists captured, then set free by the
Americans is quite extraordinary: ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his
successor Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, Abu
Muslim al-Turkmani, Haji Bakr, Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, Abu Ayman
al-Iraqi, among others.</p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Camp Bucca, known
for abuses against its detainees, brought together extremist elements,
slow-boiled this combustive formula for six years (2003-2009), then let
the now well-networked extremists go free.</p><p style="margin-left:0cm">The
religious officials of ISIS even say they used their time at the prison
to obtain vows from prisoners to join the terrorist group after their
release<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">US
intelligence also protected the terrorist organization indirectly, by
allowing ISIS convoys to move between the cities that were under its
control. Other forms of protection, according to Iraqi security experts,
include refusing to implement death sentences issued by Iraqi courts
against detained ISIS members, and establishing safe havens for the
organization’s members in western and eastern Iraq<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm"><span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr"><strong>ISIS: US foot soldiers in the regional war</strong></span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">In
a speech on 5 January, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah
warned that the US was supporting an ISIS revival in the region<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm"><i>The Cradle</i>
obtained security information monitoring the new activity of extremists
in Lebanon, communications between these elements and their
counterparts in Iraq and Syria, and suspicious money transfer activities
among them<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Lebanese
Army Intelligence also recently arrested a group of Lebanese and
Syrians who were preparing to carry out security operations<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Importantly,
this surge in terror activities comes at a time when the Lebanese
resistance is engaged in a security and military battle with Israel,
which may expand at any moment into open war. It is also notable that
renewed ISIS activity is concentrated in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran;
that is, in the countries that support the Palestinian resistance
politically, militarily, and logistically<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">On 4 January, ISIS officially claimed responsibility for <a href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles-id/17714">two bombings</a>
in the Iranian city of Kerman that targeted memorial processions on the
anniversary of the assassination of Quds Force Commander Qassem
Soleimani by US forces. The dual explosions killed around 90 people and
injured dozens, in an unprecedented attack targeting the biggest
US-Israeli adversary in West Asia – just one day after Tel Aviv killed
top Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut.</p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Before
that, on 5 October 2023, ISIS drone-attacked an officers graduation
ceremony at the Military College in the Syrian city of Homs, killing
about 100 people<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">. </span>These attacks, and
others in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Africa,
indicate that fresh blood, money, and weapons are being pumped into the
ISIS organization’s arteries again<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">A high-ranking PMU officer, who asked to remain unnamed, tells <i>The Cradle</i>
that US forces are preventing Iraqi forces from approaching Houran
Valley by attacking any security forces approaching the area. “This
happened when American aircraft targeted units of the PMU that were
attacking ISIS in the region,” he reveals, citing intelligence reports
confirming the presence of dozens of ISIS members and other extremist
organizations in the valley, where they receive training and equipment
from US forces<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0cm">Security sources in the Anbar Operations Command confirm this information:</p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:0cm">“Noticeable
activity by the organization had been recorded a few weeks ago in the
west of the country. Near the Rutba desert, ISIS fighters were spotted
digging underground hideouts. Information indicates that the
organization is in the process of carrying out terrorist operations in
many locations,<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">” they tell The Cradle.</span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-left:0cm">Concurrently,
ISIS is expanding its operations in the east of Iraq, within the
geographical triangle that includes eastern Salah al-Din Governorate,
north-eastern Diyala, and southern Kirkuk, particularly in the
geographically challenging Makhoul, Hamrin, Ghurra, Wadi al-Shay, and
Zaghitoun areas<span lang="AR-LB" dir="ltr">.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">It
should be noted that US forces are deployed in Iraq under the umbrella
of the International Coalition to Combat ISIS. Last week, four years
after the Iraqi parliament first voted to expel foreign forces, Iraqi
Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani weighed in on the “destabilizing”
impact of US troops and </span><a href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/iraq-wants-orderly-withdrawal-of-destabilizing-us-troops-pm"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">demanded</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"> a “quick and orderly” exit of those combat units. </span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Washington not only </span><a href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/washington-has-no-plans-to-withdraw-from-iraq"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">countered</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">
by saying it has “no plans” to withdraw from Iraq, but announced on 14
January that it would be sending an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq and
Syria illegally, and without the consent of either nation.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">One
irony here is that ISIS appears to regain momentum each and every time
Baghdad raises the issue of US military withdrawal from Iraq. </span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">It
can also no longer be seen as a coincidence that the terror group is
now re-assembling its forces to target Washington and Tel Aviv's most
capable regional foes – the Axis of Resistance – just when the US and
Israel are struggling to handle a region-wide, multi-front assault from
the Axis. </span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">The
extraordinary synergies between the Americans and the world's foremost
terror group can no longer be ignored: their targets are one and the
same, and ISIS is only now entering the fray, just as Washington begins
to lose its hold on West Asia.</span></p></span></div></div></div></div>
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