Can Syria’s New Leaders and U.S.-Backed Forces Unite to Defeat ISIS?

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a delegation to Syria that met with Syria’s transitional President, Ahmed al-Shara’a, on August 25. She was accompanied by US Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC). She also met with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, during the trip.

The Great Syria Rethink for America 

The trip comes as the US continues to do outreach to Syria and support its new government. Shaheen’s trip was symbolic because it involved meetings with Shara’a and Abdi, two key leaders in Syria who will need to work together if the country is to proceed with unification. In addition, they will need to coordinate against extremist threats, such as ISIS.

“A Syria that can stand on its own after ridding itself of the Assad regime will be a cornerstone for regional stability in the Middle East. America is ready to be a partner to a new Syria that moves in the right direction,” Shaheen said.

On August 19, US forces carried out a raid targeting an ISIS leader who was hiding out in Atmeh in northwest Syria. US Central Command said that the ISIS member was a key financier and was killed in the raid.

“We will continue to pursue ISIS terrorists with unwavering determination, throughout the region,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said. While the US is steadfast in its commitment to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq, it remains to be seen if the new Syrian security forces and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces can increase coordination against extremists.

Continued Conflicts

The need for coordination is clear, as Syria’s transition government seeks to unify the country. To achieve this, it will need to professionalize its forces increasingly and also work with groups that are integrating into the transitional government’s security forces. However, integration has been challenging due to ongoing uncertainty in Syria, as well as local conflicts. For instance, clashes between Bedouin and Druze in southern Syria have led to Israel backing the Druze and bombing Damascus in July.

In Lattakia, clashes in March also led to a massacre of local members of the Alawite minorities. The Syrian government has had trouble reining in groups that have attacked minorities. Many of these groups, such as Bedouin tribesmen, support the new transitional government, but want to use the power vacuum to carry out their own moves that destabilize areas of Syria.

When there is instability, a power vacuum results, and this enables groups such as ISIS to thrive. In addition, it can fuel pro-Iranian cells to continue weapons and drug trafficking in Syria. As such, cooperation and coordination between Damascus, the US, and also the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and the US-backed Syrian Free Army group at Tanf in southern Syria is essential.

Delegation Rotation

In mid-August, several US members of Congress met with Syria’s new transitional president, Ahmed al-Shara’a. This is the latest in several delegations of members of Congress who have travelled to Damascus. In the past, Congress member Abe Hamadeh (R-IL) has met with Shara’a. Rep. Cory Mills and Rep. Marlin Stutzman visited Syria in April. The latest delegation in August included Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), as well as Representatives Jason Smith (R-MO) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). This attention illustrates the increasing engagement between key US politicians and the new Syrian leadership.

Meanwhile, Syria continues to crack down on extremists. Syrian state media noted on August 23 that “the Internal security forces in Deir Ezzor province thwarted a terrorist attack attempted by two remnants of the ISIS organization on a security checkpoint in Mayadin city.”

The report said that “one of the terrorists attempted to detonate an explosive belt targeting the checkpoint, while the second, an armed suicide bomber, rushed to attack the checkpoint personnel.”

An ISIS attack was foiled as a result of the operation. Deir Ezzor is on the Euphrates River and borders the area controlled by the US-backed SDF in eastern Syria. This region is a key area where the SDF could cooperate with the new Syrian government to help defeat ISIS cells.

The SDF leader, Mazlum Abdi, met with Syria’s new president in March and signed a roadmap for integrating the SDF into the security forces of the new government. However, the last several months have not yielded many results leading to integration. Slow progress is due to SDF concerns about the level of regional autonomy they may receive under the new government. The preference in eastern Syria is for a federal structure and decentralization. However, Damascus has bucked at any suggestion of devolution in its drive to unify the country.

One confidence-building measure could involve security cooperation. The US could help support this. The US has backed a small group called the Syrian Free Army in Tanf in southern Syria. The US trained this group and has been working with the new government in Damascus over the last six months. The US continues to train with this group, where members of the 10th Mountain Division have carried out live fire drills with the local anti-ISIS fighters at Tanf.

ISIS Won’t Just Go Away 

ISIS remains active in Syria. It has members in Idlib, where the US raid in Atmeh recently killed an ISIS commander. Additionally, it has members in the Syrian Desert area east of Damascus. Syrian state media frequently reports on the need for stability in Syria. Defeating ISIS cells is a key to this stability. At the same time, the SDF continues to announce its success against ISIS. It is in the interests of the US, SDF, and the new Syrian government to defeat ISIS.

While many political aspects of unifying Syria remain uncertain, security cooperation is one area that may yield results and help the various parties in Syria find a path toward integration. The US trained the SDF, and the new Syrian security forces being trained in Damascus could benefit from their expertise.

This would also give Washington another way to engage with Damascus to stabilize Syria and help keep extremists in check.

Seth Frantzman is the author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is a Senior Middle East Analyst for The Jerusalem Post. Seth is now a National Security Journal Contributing Editor.