It’s 2025, a ‘former’ emissary of the Islamic State’s top leadership is now president of Syria – who happens to also be the founder of al Qaeda in Syria (al-Nusrah Front, since rebranded the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham/HTS) – and the United States is still claiming that its occupying forces are busy fighting ISIS across various parts of the country.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday says a raid in the Aleppo region took out senior ISIS Leader Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons, Abdallah Dhiya al-Hardani and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba al-Hardani.
It happened in the early morning hours in al-Bab, Aleppo Governate, as the ISIS individuals were described as posing a threat to “US and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government.”
The announcement also mentioned the presence of civilians at the location of the raid. The statement indicated that “Three women and three children were also on the target and were unharmed.”
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they operate. ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide. Alongside our partners and allies, U.S. Central Command is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS terrorists that threaten the region, our allies, and our homeland,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla.
It remains that the US-backed government in Damascus literally has high and mid-level officials who previously were members of ISIS.
Ruling HTS fighters also continue to be regularly photographed and filmed wearing ISIS patches. From the start of the war in Syria over a decade ago, the assortment of global jihadists in Syria have merged, coordinated, and have passed among different groups, from the FSA to Nusra Front to ISIS, and everything in between.
The West and Gulf states still deemed them ‘moderate’ – and funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons to these jihadists as part of the long-running effort to topple Assad.
US Special Forces now directly ‘coordinating’ with AQ-affiliated HTS troops?
x3 sources:
– US special forces launched a major joint raid with #Syria gov’t forces overnight in al-Bab, #Aleppo targeting a cell of #ISIS commanders & operatives involved in several plots.
A US helicopter dropped US SOF on the ground to coordinate with #Syria troops. pic.twitter.com/KsTHV6BhB8
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) July 25, 2025
The ‘counter-ISIS’ campaign has been perpetually used by Washington to justify its ‘forever war’ occupation of Syrian soil, especially of valuable oil and gas sites.
And yet the real mission was always more about countering Iran and pressuring the secular Assad government. Now with Assad having fled last December, Syria is becoming a fanatical, sectarian, Jihadi-ruled nightmare.
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