Above photo: AFP.
HTS-Led Extremists Attack ISIS Prisons.
Israel is debating whether or not to respond to Kurdish requests for aid, facing the ‘dilemma’ of a backlash from Ankara.
Kurdish militants in northern Syria have been reaching out to Israel for “assistance” after their villages were stormed by extremist groups who were involved in the assault that resulted in the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to a 12 December report by Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom.
“Senior Kurdish militia figures are turning to Israel for urgent help, in light of the seizure of territories from them by Islamist militias backed by Turkiye,” the report said.
The daily added that the Israeli security establishment is deliberating on whether or not it should respond to these Kurdish requests for aid, highlighting there has been ongoing communication between Tel Aviv and the Kurds, which has increased since Assad’s government fell on 8 December.
Yet Israel faces a “dilemma,” given the potential backlash from Turkiye. The main Kurdish group operating in Syria is the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which helps the US oversee its occupation of the country.
It is predominantly made up of forces from the Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) – the Syrian branch of Ankara’s longtime rival, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The report mentioned that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has been engaged in diplomatic efforts on behalf of Kurdish militants and the Druze in Syria, and has raised the matter with his European counterparts and with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
“You control the skies; you did not hesitate to take the great mountain (Syrian Mount Hermon). Everyone is afraid of you, including Abu Mohammad al-Julani (the leader of the group that has assumed control in Syria). Turkiye is against you and we are for you. You must help us, for your own interest,” A. Avak, an SDF commander, is cited as telling Israel Hayom.
Avak expressed that western and Israeli help is greatly needed, and that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other groups involved in the recent assault against the former Syrian government may one day “turn against” Israel. So far, HTS has not taken a firm position on Israel’s massive assault against Syria that began after Assad’s fall and wiped out the majority of Syrian military capabilities.
According to Tel Aviv, 80 percent of Syria’s capabilities have been destroyed.
The Israel Hayom article came one day after the eastern city of Deir Ezzor fell to HTS-led groups after battles with the SDF. Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) forces, who have been responsible for atrocities against Kurds in Syria, have also gained significant ground in the country after the collapse of the government.
The report also coincided with a significant ISIS resurgence in Syria. Dozens of former Syrian military soldiers were executed by ISIS in the Al-Sukhna desert region this week.
Mazloum Abdi, head of the SDF – which has fought the infamous extremist group with US-backing over the course of the Syrian war – announced on Thursday that it has halted anti-ISIS operations due to attacks targeting its forces, adding that ISIS “is now stronger in the Syrian desert.” Abdi told CNN a day earlier that the SDF has begun relocating ISIS prisoners because the prisons they are held in have been threatened and attacked by HTS-led factions and other Turkish-backed groups.
The SDF accidentally shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone on Monday after mistaking it for a Turkish UAV.
Thousands of ISIS members have been imprisoned in SDF-run jails since the fall of the northern city of Raqqa in 2017. These include 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them.
Many ISIS fighters have escaped over the years. The SDF, earlier this year, issued a general amnesty for over 1,500 ISIS militants.
The US proxy has also been accused of releasing ISIS fighters from jail.