The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have released a statement congratulating the International Coalition forces for their recent mission in Afrin (Efrîn), northern Syria, resulting in the death of senior Islamic State (ISIS) official Usamah Jamal Muhammad Ibrahim al-Janabi.
The Turkish supported Syrian Interim Government made a statement alleging that the attack was launched by the SDF, and killed a civilian. However, Farhad Shami, head of the SDF’s Media Centre, denounced the statement as misinformation. The Syrian Interim Government rules over Afrin and other Turkish occupied areas of northern Syria.
The interim government had said that “Kuwait al-Rahma Camp in Afrin was subjected to shelling by more than three rockets launched by the terrorist SDF militia”, adding that one man was killed and others injured.
The US confirmed that this attack was in fact launched by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), and targeted al-Janabi, resulting in his death.
“On June 16, U.S. Central Command conducted an airstrike in Syria, killing Usamah Jamal Muhammad Ibrahim al-Janabi, a senior ISIS official and facilitator. His death will disrupt ISIS’s ability to resource and conduct terror attacks,” CENTCOM said in their statement.
CENTCOM claimed that “There is no indication any civilians were harmed in this strike.”
“The so called interim government that is supported by Turkey claimed that this ISIS terrorist was a civilian and has been killed by [SDF] bombing,” Shami said on X. “This once again clearly reveals the scale of the deliberate misinformation for groups that work for Turkey from Syria,” he said, adding that the statement “is an attempt to protect ISIS leadership and present them as a civilian.”
“The presence [of] Osama al-Janabi in a settlement in Afrin shows the extent of Turkey’s involvement in supporting terrorism,” Shami added.
The US has been partnered with the SDF in its mission to eradicate ISIS. In 2023, they confirmed their ongoing commitment to the partnership.
“We believe the SDF have been a critical counterterrorism partner, and they remain a critical counterterrorism partner,” State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller affirmed. He emphasised the importance of the Kurdish-led forces in preventing the re-establishment of ISIS and acknowledged their significant efforts in liberating vast territories in Syria from the control of the fundamentalist group. “As I said,” Miller concluded, “they will continue to be a partner of ours.”
Turkey’s role in the resurgence of ISIS has been highlighted by various sources. Journalist Fehim Taştekin had previously pointed out that Turkey’s political landscape, shaped by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has made the country the most accessible in the region for ISIS militants to freely enter, hide and operate.
Similarly, Nadine Maenza has said that the world can see that ISIS is having the resurgence which the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has warned of for a long time, but they are missing “one of the most important reasons: Turkey”.
For the AANES, Turkey’s role in the resurgence of ISIS seems clear. The administration has accused Turkey multiple times of deliberately destabilising the region with frequent drone strikes. The AANES has branded these actions as war crimes, especially amid ongoing operations against ISIS cells by the SDF.
