U.S. and partner forces killed or captured nearly 25 Islamic State operatives in Syria in the days after a large-scale U.S.-led strike on December 19, per a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement—underscoring Washington’s view that ISIS remains an active, ongoing threat within the country.
CENTCOM noted those forces carried out 11 follow-up missions between December 20 and 29, killing at least seven ISIS members, capturing the rest, and destroying four ISIS weapons caches. These operations came after Operation Hawkeye Strike, where U.S. and Jordanian forces targeted over 70 ISIS sites across central Syria with more than 100 precision-guided munitions, wrecking infrastructure and weapons locations tied to the group.
“We will not give up,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated, adding that U.S. forces remain “unwavering” in collaborating with regional allies to dismantle ISIS networks that threaten U.S. and regional security.
The scale of the follow-up raids underscores a reality U.S. commanders and analysts have warned about for months: ISIS no longer holds large areas of territory, but it still can organize, launch attacks, and rebuild within Syria’s fractured security environment.
Syria is still split among rival forces, militias, and foreign-supported armed groups—no single authority has full control over most of the country. Analysts state this power vacuum continues to give ISIS cells room to operate secretly, recruit members, and take advantage of overstretched local forces.
Analysts point out that the environment is still shaped by former jihadist networks that were never fully disbanded after the war. Regional security assessments indicate the country’s transitional leadership—including President Ahmed al-Sharaa—came from armed Islamist factions that depended heavily on foreign fighters and militias. Though those groups aren’t the same as ISIS, experts say the partial dismantling of extremist networks has created gaps ISIS cells keep exploiting.
“ISIS doesn’t need a caliphate to be dangerous today,” Bill Roggio told Digital. “We’ve always been too quick to label terrorist groups as defeated and irrelevant—and that’s far from the truth.”
Roggio noted the group has adapted instead of vanishing, moving away from controlling territory to smaller, more hidden cells that can carry out deadly attacks. He cited ongoing ISIS activity not just in Syria and Iraq, but also in Afghanistan and other areas—pointing to UN reports estimating around 2,000 ISIS fighters are still active in Afghanistan alone.
“That’s not the profile of a defeated group,” Roggio said, adding that ISIS still recruits, indoctrinates, and inspires attacks even without the visibility it once had.
One of the most critical vulnerabilities is the network of detention centers in northeastern Syria holding thousands of ISIS terrorists and supporters. Reuters reports these prisons are mainly guarded by Kurdish-led forces, supported by a small U.S. military contingent of around 1,000 troops.
U.S. and coalition officials have repeatedly warned that any major disruption to prison security could let hardened ISIS operatives escape and rebuild networks across Syria and beyond. Kurdish officials have also expressed worries about funding gaps, manpower shortages, and pressure from nearby rival militias.
Though U.S. officials haven’t publicly tied the recent strikes to prison-related threats, analysts say the wider environment of fragmented control raises the risk of coordinated attacks, insider help, or prison unrest.
The danger isn’t hypothetical. ISIS has carried out mass prison breaks in Syria and Iraq before—including a 2022 attack on the al-Sinaa prison in Hasakah that took days of fighting to control.
The U.S. strikes also occur amid ongoing instability in Syria, where multiple armed groups operate with overlapping authority. Analysts note that militia clashes, sectarian violence, and unresolved command structures have weakened overall security and shifted focus away from counterterrorism efforts.
Clashes in areas around Damascus, including Mezzeh, and unrest in minority regions have further shown the gaps ISIS and other extremist groups can exploit, per regional security assessments and open-source reports.
“Syria’s chaos is the fuel,” Roggio said. “ISIS flourishes where no one has full control.”
U.S. officials and analysts emphasize that ISIS activity in Syria is part of a broader pattern, not an isolated outbreak.
Israeli Mossad sources told Digital about ongoing ISIS-linked activity across multiple regions, including and small-scale attacks meant to test security responses and keep operational relevance.
, security forces recently clashed with Islamic State militants during counterterrorism operations, wounding several officers, according to Reuters on Monday. Turkish authorities said the raids targeted ISIS cells suspected of planning attacks inside the country.
“These are signals, not spikes,” Roggio said. “ISIS operates across regions, adapting to pressure and exploiting weak governance wherever it finds it.”
The renewed raises difficult questions for policymakers about how long the current containment strategy can hold.
While U.S. officials say the Dec. 19 strikes delivered a significant blow to ISIS infrastructure, they have also acknowledged that counterterrorism operations alone cannot eliminate the underlying conditions that allow the group to persist.
“Just because we want to declare the war against terror over doesn’t mean it’s over,” Roggio said. “The enemy gets a vote.”