Pentagon chief suggests ISIS could try to rebuild amid Syria unrest

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the international terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) could take advantage of the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Austin told reporters on December 9 while aboard the aircraft carrier George Washington in the Sea of ​​Japan, CNN reported.

"Given what's happened, of course, as events unfold, there's a possibility that elements in the area like ISIS could try to take advantage of this opportunity and rebuild their capabilities," Austin said.

He added that the United States carried out strikes on ISIS targets last weekend. Washington is still assessing the results of these attacks.

ISIS is an international terrorist organization that operated mainly in Syria and Iraq from 2013 to 2019.

The organization or terrorist groups affiliated with it also controlled small territories in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Despite the destruction of the main forces and leaders, the remnants of the organization remained in Syria and Iraq.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on December 8, the Syrian army command announced the end of the rule of dictator Bashar Assad, who, amid the rapid advance of opposition groups, left the country and flew to russia.

As a reminder, the offensive of opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham began on November 27 in northeastern Syria. In eleven days, they managed to capture most of the country's territory and take control of the capital Damascus.

On the night of December 8, Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad al-Jalali declared his readiness to transfer power to opposition groups.

We also wrote that the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that information about the destruction of Assad's plane was used by russia to cover up the operation to rescue the Syrian dictator.

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