Moscow is concerned about the situation in US-controlled territories of Syria, where the threat of international terrorism comes from, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with TASS.
"We are most concerned about the unfolding situation on non-government-controlled territories, in particular in Idlib, as well as in Trans Euphrates and el-Tanf, where the illegal military presence of the Americans persists. A clear indication that it is from there that the main threat of international terrorism comes was the recent US operation to eliminate the leader of ISIS (former name of the terrorist group Islamic State, banned in Russia - TASS) Abu Ibrahim [al-Hashimi] al-Qureishi in the Idlib de-escalation zone," said the deputy foreign minister.
He also recalled the resonant attack of the Islamic State fighters on the al-Sina prison guarded by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces in the north-east of Syria in January this year, which resulted in "several hundreds of dangerous terrorists at large."
"All these facts point to the need to restore the Syrian government's control over the entire country as soon as possible and to establish effective international cooperation with Damascus in the anti-terrorist sphere," Syromolotov concluded.
On January 20, a gang of 200 IS fighters seized al-Sina prison in al-Hasakah, where 3,500 people were held, including mercenaries involved in fighting on the side of the terrorists. The command of the Kurdish SDF alliance, with the support of the US Air Force, conducted a large-scale operation to suppress the insurgency. On January 26, the Kurds announced that they had regained control of al-Sina. Over 240 terrorists were killed in the storming of the prison. Kurdish casualties were 120 fighters and seven civilians were also killed.
On February 3, the press service of the White House issued a written statement of US President Joe Biden which said that the US forces carried out a successful counter-terrorist operation in the North-West of Syria, which resulted in the death of the IS leader, al-Qureishi. According to Associated Press sources, at least 13 people were killed in Thursday night's operation in Syrian territory near the border with Turkey.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS