Fight against Isil far from over, says general

‘We know they may attempt to work in smaller cells, and they certainly will continue attempting acts of terror’

THE fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) is not over, a British general has warned, saying its remaining fighters in Syria have been able to move to areas that the international coalition is unable to target.

Maj Gen Felix Gedney, the deputy commander of strategy and support for the coalition against Isil, said the Syrian government was not doing enough to stop the militants from travelling through its territory. “They seem to be moving with impunity through regime-held territory, showing that the [Damascus] regime is clearly either unwilling or unable to defeat Daesh [Isil] within their borders,” Maj Gen Gedney told Pentagon reporters.

He said it was the responsibility of the regime to fight Isil on the ground. “We can only defeat [it] in areas that our partner forces control,” he said.

The Us-led coalition does not bomb areas controlled by the government, fearing a confrontation with the Russians, who back President Bashar alassad. The coalition has estimated there are between 1,000 and 2,000 jihadists still fighting in the desert between the Iraq-syria border.

Washington-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have driven Isil from the eastern side of the Euphrates river but claim they are encountering fleeing fighters on a routine basis. They said they had observed jihadists travelling west, across the Euphrates, into territory controlled by Syrian troops.

Over the past month there were two reported incidents of groups of terrorists also crossing from regime-controlled areas into coalition-controlled areas of southern Syria.

“The Syrian regime has failed to demonstrate its ability to prevent the resurgence [of Isil] on their own soil,” Maj Gen Gedney complained. He said recent declarations of victory, by Syria and Russia, were premature. While Iraq’s security forces and the SDF have secured successes, the coalition said yesterday that more work remains.

The group is still trying to re-establish regional networks and remains a local, regional and global threat, warned Maj Gen Gedney who said Isil fighters will try to “vanish” into the population. Isil “will attempt to mount some form of insurgency, we believe. It is an adaptive and patient enemy,” he said. “We know they may attempt to work in smaller cells, and most certainly will continue attempting acts of terror.”

Jim Mattis, the US Defense Secretary, has said the long-term objective is to prevent the return of an “Isil 2.0”.

♦ Eight French jihadists, including a Muslim convert who is suspected of involvement in the 2015 Paris attacks, have been captured in Syria by Kurdish fighters, it emerged yesterday. Thomas Barnouin, 36, was detained near the Iraq border earlier this month.