ISIS given ‘breathing space’ in parts of Syria under US-backed forces’ control

ISIS given ‘breathing space’ in parts of Syria under US-backed forces’ control

Islamic State managed to regain access to Syrian oil fields and make profits from selling oil, a new UN report reveals. While the UN did not point fingers, the IS reemergence seems to occur in areas held by the US-backed forces. “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant [IS, formerly ISIL/ISIS (but still I-CIA-SIS)], having been defeated militarily in Iraq and most of the Syrian Arab Republic during 2017, rallied in early 2018. This was the result of a loss of momentum by forces fighting it in the east of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the July 27 report from the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Monitoring Team reads. The slow-down gave ISIS “breathing space to prepare for the next phase of its evolution into a global covert network.”