Iraqi warplanes carried out airstrikes against ISIS forces on the Syrian side of the border on Thursday, according to officials. The strikes, ordered by Prime Minister Hayder Abadi, were described as “deadly,” but no actual casualty figures were available.
ISIS forces have been reported to by trying to reemerge in several places around Syria. This includes sites on the Euphrates River not far from the Iraq-Syria border crossing. Iraqi officials say the strike was carried out in coordination with the Syrian Army.
That is unsurprising. The Iraqi government objected to Friday’s US-led attacks on Syria. Iraqi officials warned that the US strikes risked giving ISIS a chance to reassert itself in Syrian territory.
While ISIS forces near the border in Deir Ezzor aren’t in a particularly strong position, Iraq may feel a coordinated strike expresses their support for Assad’s survival. Iraq has attacked sites around the border town of Abu Kamal, but they’ve never said the strike was coordinated with Syria.
The Kurds used to fight ISIS on the ground – to some extent – and the US from the air. Currently the Kurds are busy elsewhere and who can blame them and the US cannot replace the ground operations but the US has also stopped air operations against ISIS. I’ve seen statistics of the number of air operations. So the air operation from Iraq could [and should] have been done by US. My interpretation at the moment is that Iraq is aware that the US is tolerating ISIS (or collaborating) and decides they have to attack themselves, against the will of the US. The attacks cannot be done by Syria because the US won’t let them. [edit for clarity]
Indeed. It has become rather obvious. US should let Iraq take iver figting the remnants of ISIS, in Eupharates valley, Deir Azzor and along the border, followed by peacekeeping until elections. Turkey is taking care of former Free Syrian Army and will eventually Idlib. Kurds have to decide: Turkey or Damascus. US can leave Syria and coordinate with Iraq and Turkey.
Iraq should take the possibility of an IS resurgence seriously; at the very least the U.S. would need some pretext to remain in Iraq, harassing Iraq’s growing ties to Iran.