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The death of an Islamic State leader in Syria last week was described as a “severe blow” to the terrorist group, but civilians in Syria say the danger remains, both from the extremists and from the coalition fighting them.
Thousands of displaced people are also facing the extreme poverty caused by the war.
Kur helicopters arrived at a house in Idlib, Syria, last week, displaced families in the area were horrified. A day later, many people approached the scene to see what had happened.
“I live in a refugee camp nearby. We heard noise and I could tell they were helicopters. “I came here to find out what happened and I saw the bodies of children and women.” says Aboud Al-Youssef.
U.S. officials say civilians who died in the operation against the Islamic State leader on Thursday were killed when his suicide vest exploded.
The leader of the Islamic State was known by several names such as Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and Haji Abdullah.
“We have strong signals that the casualties, including those of innocent civilians in this operation were caused by Abdullah, who blew himself up.” says Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby.
He has been blamed for a recent attack on a prison in Syria where Islamic State fighters are being held, which turned into a ten-day battle and killed hundreds of militants and more than 100 prison guards and staff.
But Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces officials controlling the makeshift prison warned that an attack like this was imminent even before Haji Abdullahu took over the Islamic State.
There are a number of facilities in northeastern Syria, housing tens of thousands of men, women and children who surrendered in 2019, when the Islamic State lost control of the territories. They are from dozens of different countries and all are being held without charge.
Severe living conditions are increasing radicalization in already radicalized camps and prisons. Syrian Democratic Forces officials call detention centers “time bombs.”
Many locals say the death of the Islamic State leader may have little effect on mitigating the risk.
But in Idlib, the last province in Syria still controlled by anti-government opposition forces, some observers say the death of the Islamic State leader is a relief.
“I am just happy for him to die because the Islamic State is a terrorist organization that destroyed the Syrian revolution. “It’s like a disease or a virus.” says journalist Mohamed Hajj Kaddour.
But others say that, for civilians, the threat from the Islamic State has always been less than that of international and local forces bombing the terrorist group.
Across Syria and Iraq, numerous cities remain in ruins, and it is not known how many thousands of civilians have been killed by coalition forces fighting Islamic State.
“We have been in danger and we have suffered on both sides. Children are especially scared. Women are afraid too. “We are afraid of coalition warplanes equipped with missiles and machine guns.” says Umm Yusuf, a displaced resident.
Like many displaced families, she says more horrific than violence is the struggle to survive the extreme poverty caused by the war./VOA
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