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Transcript/ScriptSYRIA ISLAMIC STATE
HEADLINE: Is Islamic State Growing Stronger?
TEASER: Residents fear an IS resurgence and coalition attacks despite leader’s death last week
PUBLISHED AT: 02/07/2022 AT 12:35pm
BYLINE: Mouneb Taim, Heather Murdock
DATELINE: IDLIB, Syria
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mouneb Taim, Moawia Atrash, Ali Zeyno
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:36
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) The death of an Islamic State leader in Syria last week was hailed as a “blow” to the group but families in Syria say danger remains, both from the militants and from the coalition fighting them. For VOA, Mouneb Taim has this report from Idlib with Heather Murdock in Istanbul.
((NARRATOR:))
When helicopters descended on this house in Idlib, Syria, last week, displaced families in the area were baffled and terrified. The next morning, many approached the scene to see what had happened.
((Aboud Al-Youssef, Displaced Person)) ((Male, Arabic))
“I live in the camp very close to here. We heard noise and I could tell it was helicopters. I came here to find out what happened and saw the bodies of children and women.”
((NARRATOR:))
American officials say civilians who died in the operation against Islamic State’s leader on Thursday were killed when the intended target’s suicide vest exploded.
The leader was known by several names, including Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and Hajji Abdullah.
((John Kirby, Pentagon Spokesperson)) ((Male, English))
"And while the strong indications are here, is that that, that the life, that the lives taken in this operation, the lives of innocents taken in this operation were caused by Abdullah and his decision to blow himself up.”
((NARRATOR:))
He is blamed for the recent IS prison raid in Syria, which became a ten-day battle leading to the deaths of hundreds of suspected militants and more than 100 guards and prison workers.
((NARRATOR:))
But officials of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who controlled the makeshift prison warned that an attack like this was imminent even before Hajji Abdullah came to power.
Northeastern Syria has several facilities holding tens of thousands of men, women and children who surrendered when IS lost its last bit of territory in 2019. They are from dozens of countries, and all are held without charges.
Squalid living conditions are only deepening the already deeply radicalized camps and prisons. SDF officials call the detention centers “ticking time bombs.”
Many locals say the death of the IS leader may do little to mitigate this risk.
But in Idlib, the last province in Syria still held by anti-government opposition forces, some observers say the death of the leader is, nonetheless, a boon.
((Mohamed Hajj Kaddour, Local Journalist)) ((Male, in Arabic))
“I feel joyous because IS is one of the terrorist organizations that destroyed Syria’s revolution. It is like a disease or a virus.”
((NARRATOR:))
But others say that, for civilians, the threat of IS has always been outmatched by the threat of international and local forces bombarding the group.
Across Syria and Iraq, towns and cities remain in rubble, and it is unknown how many thousands of civilians have been killed by coalition forces fighting Islamic State.
((Umm Yusuf, Displaced Person)) ((Female, in Arabic))
“We have been in danger and suffered from both sides. Children are particularly afraid. Even women are afraid. We fear the coalition planes with their missiles, and their machine guns.”
((NARRATOR:))
Like many displaced families, she says even more terrifying than the violence, is the struggle to survive the extreme poverty brought on by the war.
((HEATHER MURDOCK FOR MOUNEB TAIM, VOA NEWS, IDLIB, SYRIA))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 7, 2022 19:20 EST
BylineMouneb Taim, Heather Murdock
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
