The following two reports are now complimentary offerings about U.S. forces in Syria from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Syrian Government Daily Calls For Confronting U.S. Forces In Syria
On June 18, 2017, the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra published an article by columnist Munir Al-Moussa in which he called to confront the U.S. forces in Syria. Al-Moussa called the U.S. "the greatest axis of terror, around which all the terror organizations rally," and warned against its presence in Syria's eastern desert regions.[1]
The article concluded: "America, which is thousands of kilometers from Syria, created ISIS and all the terrorist organizations in order to enable itself to intervene [in Syria], not in order to combat terrorism [there] but in order to kill the people of Syria and control Syria's Iraqi and Jordanian borders.
"Therefore, it is necessary to wage resistance wherever the American forces are present in Syria, to resist the American presence, and to control the border crossings with Turkey, Iraq and Jordan – [countries] that are concerned, on Israel's behalf, that [the Syrian army will] liberate the Houran [apparently a reference to southeast Syria]. We say to America: Get out of Syria, or as they say in English, 'go out America.' You are harboring hopes where no hope for you exists."
Video Released By ISIS Al-Furat Province, Iraq Shows U.S., U.K. Military Instructors In Syria, Expresses Satisfaction At Struggle For Control Of Iraq-Jordan-Syria Border Region
On June 18, 2017, the information office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Al-Furat province in Iraq posted a 16-minute video titled "Allah Will Be Sufficient For You Against Them" (the name is taken from Quran, Chapter Al-Baqarah, Verse 137). The video, which was distributed, inter alia, via the Nasher News Agency Telegram account,[2] reviews at length what it calls the failed attempts of the coalition, led by the Americans and the British, to defeat the Islamic State in the Syrian desert region, where the borders of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan meet, and emphasizes the strategic border crossing at Al-Tanaf.
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The video shows the brutal execution of Syrians who allegedly spied for the coalition forces, and reveals materials from a large archive seized by ISIS fighters documenting, inter alia, U.S. and British soldiers' instruction of Syrian rebels.
In the video, ISIS expresses satisfaction at the transformation of the Al-Tanaf region, in the Syrian desert, into an arena of fighting, where the Syrian army and Shi'ite forces seeking to create territorial and logistical continuity to Damascus confront the coalition forces, led by the Americans, that seek to prevent this.
The narrator expresses hope that this region will be a quagmire in which both of these sides, who are both enemies of ISIS, will sink.
It should be noted that in July 2016, ISIS's Al-Furat province released a video documenting its fight against the New Syrian Army (NSA) organization; the video showed the NSA fighters receiving training from American and British army officers.[3]
The first part of the newly released video shows how the Americans, in coordination with the Jordanians, created the NSA, to fight ISIS and to defend the Jordanian border. However, according to the video, ISIS fighters defeated the NSA on the battlefield, and exposed cells conducting spy operations against it, including by wiretapping. Likewise, according to the video, ISIS fighters seized a huge archive of documents, audio and video material, and files, including of secret information. The video presents examples of the recordings and video documenting American and British soldiers instructing NSA fighters. In light of the failure of this army, it said, the Americans decided to change its name to The Revolution Commando Army, and established a large joint base with the British at Al-Tanaf – except that all these measures were to no avail and the ISIS fighters carried out catastrophic attacks against them.
An ISIS member appears in the video warning Syrian residents not to join the army established by the Americans, and noting, inter alia: "These apostate organizations are organizations sponsored by the Crusaders; they were established with the sponsorship of the Crusaders, they emerged only because of Crusader aid. They cannot move a single resident without Crusader permission. They are apostate mercenaries of 'the American madman' [i.e. President Trump], for a fistful of dollars."
The video also includes testimony by captured alleged spies who say that the Jordanians are aiding the Revolution Commando Army while the Americans are providing it with funds and food.
Later on in the video, four of the alleged spies are executed with their own weapons, and another man is executed by being beheaded with a knife. In light of the execution, one ISIS member warns rebels who are collaborating with coalition forces: "Aren't the Americans and British training you?! Do you think that they want what is good for you?! Do you think they are aiding you because of your beautiful eyes?! They are training you, aiding you, and sponsoring you only for the good of their Crusader project."
The following are photos from the archive seized by ISIS:
An American instructing Syrians
American instructors in Syria. In the background, a recording of a man named Haz'al Al-Sarhan plays; he is apparently speaking to students in the course and telling them that when the time comes they will discover who it is who is helping them.
Training by Americans and/or British in Syria
[1] On this the U.S. presence in that region, see MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No.1320 Resistance Axis Forces Directly Threaten U.S.: We Are On The Brink Of War On Syria-Iraq Border; The U.S. Will Pay Dearly If It Acts Against Us In Syria, June 14, 2017.
[2] Telegram.me/wakalat nasher news, June 18, 2017.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Video Touts Victory Over New Syrian Army (NSA), Shows Footage Of American, British Officers Training NSA Fighters, July 27, 2016
