“ISIS will try to use this period to reestablish its capabilities, to create safe havens. As our precision strikes over the weekend demonstrate, we are determined not to let that happen,” Blinken said during an event at the state department.
Blinken also said that Washington wants to avoid the fragmentation of Syria following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
“We have a clear interest in doing what we can to avoid the fragmentation of Syria, mass migrations from Syria and, of course, the export of terrorism and extremism,” he said.
Blinken’s statement showcases a contrast between the positions of the President Joe Biden’s administration and the President-elect Donald Trump who has insisted that what is happening in Syria is not Washington’s fight and the US should not get involved.
The US top diplomat also noted that his country has “clear interest in ensuring that whatever weapons of mass destruction or components are left in Syria do not fall into the wrong hands.”
Syria’s civil war dramatically reignited late last month when a coalition of rebels led by the jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a blistering offensive against the Syrian army, seizing the northern city of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and culminating their victory by capturing the capital Damascus as rebels said Assad fled the country, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
Amid the turmoil in Syria, ISIS cells exploited the opportunity to expand influence and carry out hit-and-run attacks in the Syrian Desert.
When asked on the possible reemergence of ISIS in Syria, Biden said on Sunday that the US “will not let that happen.”
Moments following Biden’s speech, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it has carried out airstrikes against 75 Islamic State (ISIS) camps in Syria, to prevent the group from taking “advantage” of the recent escalations in the country.
