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Islamic State Returns to Guerrilla Warfare in Iraq and Syria
(Wall Street Journal) Raja Abdulrahim and Isabel Coles - Despite Syrian and Iraqi claims of victory over Islamic State, thousands of militants still holed up in both countries have mounted a number of recent guerrilla-style attacks on civilians and military forces, according to the U.S.-led coalition. The fighters, hiding in isolated desert or mountain regions or among civilian populations in neighboring countries, are stepping up hit-and-run attacks. In Iraq, insurgents disguised as members of a government-backed militia set up fake checkpoints south of Kirkuk where they assassinated a local police chief and his son. Days later, militants ambushed an army patrol. Jennifer Cafarella, an analyst for the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, said maintaining sleeper cells is a crucial part of Islamic State's long-term strategy to resurge. Its decisions to withdraw early from several battlefields across Syria and Iraq were aimed at preserving capability for future use. "As long as Iraqi cities remain destroyed, as long as Iranian proxies continue to get stronger, as long as the Assad regime continues to grow stronger, ISIS will continue to represent a mantle of Sunni resistance, however horrific."