ISIS returns to Syria: How terror group is making a revival in war-torn country with deadly attacks on the rise after US forces withdrawal

ISIS attacks in Syria are surging following the withdrawal of American forces from the war-torn country. 

The nation is still picking itself off the ground following the fall of the Assad regime last year, leaving it in a position to be exploited by extremist groups that have long had a foothold. 

ISIS, in particular, has been capitalising on the weak presence of both external military forces and the new government on the ground. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that ISIS has so far staged 117 attacks in northeast Syria from January to the end of August. 

This is already significantly higher than the 73 attacks that took place across the whole of 2024. 

Goran Tel Tamir, a commander in the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told the newspaper: ”The withdrawal of American forces is inspiring Daesh. 

‘We see them launching more attacks on us. We are getting more complaints from people. This is putting us in a difficult position.’

Since April, the Americans have pulled out roughly 500 of their 2,000 troops in Syria and shut down several bases, or handed them over to the SDF. 

The following month saw ISIS launch anon the Syrian army, the terror group’s first strike against government forces which marks a significant escalation against what it sees as an illegitimate administration. 

The number of American troops in Syria could drop below 1,000, further reducing the ballast needed to counter ISIS. 

The terror group, established in 2004, declared itself a state in 2014 after capitalising on the chaos seen in the Middle East during the Arab Spring. It carried out infamous attacks across the world, but built the bulk of its territory and power in Iraq and Syria. 

At its height, it commanded 80,000 militants including more than 42,000 foreign terrorists. 

But ISIS has seen a major fall in power and capabilities, with an estimated 1,300 fighters left. 

However, the fall of Bashir al-Assad in December 2024 left a major power vacuum in the country. 

And since then, it has reorganised and adapted its tactics to sow fear into the hearts of Syrians who, less than a year ago, saw the murderous dictator who ran their nation for nearly a quarter of a century. 

In northeast Syria, they murder Kurdish representatives and are starting their protection rackets up again.

According to Siymend Ali, a representative for the People’s Defence Units, the main militia within the SDF, ISIS are now working in disparate sleeper cells instead of a classic top-down structure. 

Each unaware of the others, the cells carry out attack orders in a way that is far harder to stamp out. 

Ali said: ‘They depend on small groups, four or five people, for one operation. 

‘In this way, they are saving a lot of money. Everyone has one AK-47 and an explosive device’.

On top of this, ISIS fighters no longer wear uniforms or carry the terrifying black flags they, making them harder to identify.  

The increasing threat ISIS poses has led to significant changes on the world stage, with Britain removing Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the Syrian rebel group which led the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s regime, from its list of banned terrorist organisations earlier this week. 

The UK Government said the move would allow for closer engagement with Damascus at a time when the terrorist group calling itself Islamic State remains a ‘significant threat’ in the country.

Deproscribing HTS will also enable Britain to help Syria in eliminating any remaining stockpiles from Mr Assad’s chemical weapons programme, the Foreign Office said.

But the Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel called for the Government to ‘urgently’ address the Commons about the move, which she said would require ‘overwhelming evidence to justify’.

Forces led by the group, which was proscribed within the UK 2017 due to its connections with al Qaida, toppled Mr Assad’s dictatorship in December last year after years of civil war.

At the time, the UK Government indicated the ban on HTS could be lifted in future but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was too early to consider a change in policy.

Opposition critics had voiced concern that Britain would risk legitimising the group by engaging in diplomatic contact.

Former foreign secretary David Lammy met former HTS leader and interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa when he visited Damascus this summer, the first trip to the country by a UK minister for 14 years.

In a joint update on Tuesday, the Home Office and Foreign Office said deproscription ‘will support this Government’s engagement on the counter-Daesh mission in Syria, in turn reducing the threat to the UK’.

‘Deproscription will also support closer working with Syria to eliminate the Assad regime’s chemical weapons programme,’ the Government said.

‘This Government welcomes the Syrian President’s commitment to destroy these weapons once and for all.’

The move follows US President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Syria earlier this year, which the White House described as an effort to support the country on its path ‘to stability and peace’.

Lifting the ban on HTS will mean that offences set out in the Terrorism Act 2000, including the offences of membership and inviting support for proscribed organisations, will no longer apply to the group.

The Government said it ‘reserves the right to reassess proscription decisions in response to any emerging threats and will always take swift and decisive action in the interests of national security’.

Dame Priti said: ‘Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has its roots in al-Qaeda and was proscribed as a terrorist organisation due to their serious threat.

‘Labour’s decision to deproscribe HTS is serious – and it should only have been done if there was overwhelming evidence to justify this decision. These decisions must never be political.

‘The record of the HTS government in Syria when it comes to the protection of minorities leaves much to be desired.

‘Labour must come to the House of Commons urgently to explain the evidential basis of this decision.’