ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The coalition continues to monitor 11 of the 17 buses in an ISIS convoy in the Syrian desert, after six returned to regime territory. Local Iraqi officials, however, have reported the arrival of hundreds of ISIS militants in western Anbar province.
“Over the past week, 6 of the 17 buses have returned westward toward Palmyra, back in Syrian regime territory, unimpeded by any Coalition action. The Coalition continues to monitor the remaining 11 buses and communicate with Russian officials who advise the Syrian regime,” read a statement issued by the US-led global anti-ISIS coalition Monday evening.
The Syrian army and Hezbollah in Lebanon agreed to a deal last weekend that allowed an ISIS convoy to relocate from their enclave on the Lebanon-Syria border to the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, which borders Iraq.
On Saturday, Hezbollah stated it and Damascus had fulfilled their part of the deal as the buses had been transferred out of territory under Syrian government control “without exposing them.”
An estimated more than 300 ISIS militants with their families were in the convoy.
The coalition, which says it was not a party to the evacuation deal, opposes the move, arguing it just makes the ISIS fighters someone else’s problem.
Baghdad has also expressed its outrage over the move that brings ISIS militants to its border.
The coalition vowed to prevent the convoy from reaching the border and has targeted ISIS vehicles and fighters that have attempted to approach the convoy. It also cratered the road to prevent forward movement of the buses.
They are not, however, targeting the buses directly, and reiterated that they are seeking a resolution in order remove the women and children from the convoy and have made a proposal to Damascus via Russia. “The Syrian regime is letting women and children suffer in the desert. This situation is completely on them,” said coalition commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend.
Local reports, however, indicate that all or most of the ISIS militants may have left the convoy and been transported to Iraq.
The Washington Post, citing local council member Asmaa al-Ani and Mohammed Karbouli, member of the parliament’s committee on defence and security, reported that hundreds of ISIS fighters from Syria had arrived in Iraq’s Rawah with their families.
“Over the past week, 6 of the 17 buses have returned westward toward Palmyra, back in Syrian regime territory, unimpeded by any Coalition action. The Coalition continues to monitor the remaining 11 buses and communicate with Russian officials who advise the Syrian regime,” read a statement issued by the US-led global anti-ISIS coalition Monday evening.
The Syrian army and Hezbollah in Lebanon agreed to a deal last weekend that allowed an ISIS convoy to relocate from their enclave on the Lebanon-Syria border to the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, which borders Iraq.
On Saturday, Hezbollah stated it and Damascus had fulfilled their part of the deal as the buses had been transferred out of territory under Syrian government control “without exposing them.”
An estimated more than 300 ISIS militants with their families were in the convoy.
The coalition, which says it was not a party to the evacuation deal, opposes the move, arguing it just makes the ISIS fighters someone else’s problem.
Baghdad has also expressed its outrage over the move that brings ISIS militants to its border.
The coalition vowed to prevent the convoy from reaching the border and has targeted ISIS vehicles and fighters that have attempted to approach the convoy. It also cratered the road to prevent forward movement of the buses.
They are not, however, targeting the buses directly, and reiterated that they are seeking a resolution in order remove the women and children from the convoy and have made a proposal to Damascus via Russia. “The Syrian regime is letting women and children suffer in the desert. This situation is completely on them,” said coalition commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend.
Local reports, however, indicate that all or most of the ISIS militants may have left the convoy and been transported to Iraq.
The Washington Post, citing local council member Asmaa al-Ani and Mohammed Karbouli, member of the parliament’s committee on defence and security, reported that hundreds of ISIS fighters from Syria had arrived in Iraq’s Rawah with their families.
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