US general highlights ‘close cooperation’ with Syria against ISIL threats

The head of the US military’s Middle East-based Central Command, Brad Cooper, has said that the United States is working with Syrian forces to carry out operations against ISIL (ISIS), highlighting the collaboration between Washington and Damascus.

Speaking virtually at a Middle East Institute event on Wednesday, Cooper said the US military is working to “foster cooperation” with Syrian authorities.

“We have now had multiple instances of collaboration with the Syrian government to counter very specific ISIS threats,” Cooper said.

The US general’s comments came on the first anniversary of the start of the Syrian transition after the fall of the government of President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive by opposition fighters.

Cooper’s statement emphasising security cooperation in Syria underscores the stunning transformation in Damascus, which had close ties to US rivals Russia and Iran for decades under al-Assad’s rule.

The US commander also said the US is helping efforts to integrate the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces with the Syrian government.

Backed by the US, the SDF controls large parts of the country’s northeast, where it enjoys de facto self-rule. Despite an agreement in March to merge SDF fighters into Syrian state institutions, occasional clashes have broken out between the two sides.

“SDF’s successful integration with the Syrian government forces will lead to a more predictable and stable security environment,” Cooper said.

Syria joined the US-led global coalition against ISIL last month after President Ahmed al-Sharaa – a former rebel commander who formerly led a group with ties to al-Qaeda – visited Washington, DC, and met US President Donald Trump.

“Just the other week, we worked with the Syrian Ministry of Interior in locating and destroying 15 ISIS weapon sites in southern Syria,” Cooper said on Wednesday.

“This operation eliminated over 130 mortars and rockets, multiple small arms, antitank mines, IED [improvised explosive device] material and illicit drugs.”

ISIL controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019. Despite the group’s territorial defeat, US officials say ISIL remnants continue to pose a threat to the region.

The US deployed as many as 2,000 troops to Syria during the fight against ISIL, but the Trump administration announced earlier this year that it will slash the number of US bases and soldiers in the country.

Cooper said the US military will continue to play an “active role” in supporting US envoy Tom Barrack to realise Trump’s “vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours”.

He also reiterated his gratitude to the Syrian authorities for intercepting weapons intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“These are the types of tangible security gains we can make on the ground through close cooperation with Syrian government forces,” he said.

Since the fall of al-Assad, Israel – the top US ally in the region – has been carrying out air strikes in Syria and expanding its military presence in the south of the country.

Israeli troops have also been regularly launching raids in southern Syria and abducting and disappearing residents.

On Wednesday, Cooper failed to mention the Israeli campaign in the country, but he hailed what he called “hoops diplomacy”, referring to footage of himself playing basketball with al-Sharaa earlier this year.