Daesh to Spread even after Defeat in Iraq, Syria, Claims Collusion with Turkey - The Independent
Local Editor
Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the terrorist "ISIS" group] will flourish and survive even if it is defeated in the present battle for Syria and Iraq, a terrorist from the group told The Independent.
In an exclusive interview, Faraj, a 30-year-old veteran militant from north east Syria, said that "when we say that Daesh is everlasting and expanding, it is not a mere poetic or propaganda phrase".
According to him, the group intends to rebuild its strength in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, adding that "Daesh has sleeper agents all over the world and their numbers are increasing".
In his account of his life in Daesh, Faraj made plain that only a year after the caliphate was declared in the wake of the capture of Mosul in 2014, its leaders could foresee that it might be overrun militarily.
He revealed hitherto unknown details of the apparent close cooperation between Daesh and Turkey and the degree to which foreign fighters who flooded into Syria to fight for the group alienated local people from the movement by ordering them about and interfering in their lives.
Speaking of the Turkish military intervention in Syria which began on 24 August, Faraj helped explain a mysterious development which took place at the time. As Turkish tanks moved into the border town of Jarabulus on the Euphrates River, Daesh appeared to know they were coming and made no attempt to resist them.
This was in sharp contrast to the ferocious resistance put up by Daesh fighters to defend the Daesh-held town of Manbij a little further south from attack by the Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] whose fighting muscle comes from the Kurdish People's Protection Units [YPG].
"Turkey supported Daesh a lot," he recalled. "When I was in Tal Abyad in May, 2015, we received a lot of weapons and ammunition without any obstacles from the border guards."
This has long been an accusation by the Kurds, but this may be the first time that allegations of Turkish complicity with Daesh during a battle has been confirmed by a Daesh fighter taking part in it.
Source: The Independent, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
Al-Assad: Palestinian Resistance Defeated ‘Israel’
4 months ago
