The U.S. brought back 11 Americans, six Canadians, four Dutch citizens and one Finnish citizen from northeast Syria on Tuesday, as stated by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“In doing this difficult return and relocation, the Department worked closely with our interagency partners,” Blinken said on Tuesday. “I want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, and the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Health and Human Services for their help.”
Blinken also referred to Tuesday’s return as the “biggest single return of U.S. citizens from northeast Syria to date” in the statement.
“The United States is still committed to helping those countries that want to bring back their citizens from northeast Syria, and to finding solutions, including resettlement, for those who can't return to their communities or countries of origin,” Blinken said.
Back in Februarya top military commander for U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in Syria cautioned that escalating conflict in the Middle East and attacks from Iranian-supported groups in Iraq and Syria are creating opportunities for the Islamic State to return.
“With all these tensions and all these attacks on our forces and in our areas from different and multiple sides, we’re seeing that ISIS is taking the benefit from all these attacks. We have also seen a spike in movements from ISIS,” Mazloum Abdi, the general commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said in a briefing over Zoom to journalists.
Tensions in the Middle East have increased amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, including actions such as Iranian-backed proxies attacking U.S. forces in the region.
