Thread by @jseldin

JUST IN: #ISIS attacks in #Iraq #Syria up in April-June 2021 period compared to previous 3 months, per new @DoD_IG report

Warns reduction in violence at #alHol camp in Syria after #SDF sweep in April "may be only temporary" as ISIS retains a "strong presence" per @CENTCOM

MORE: Impact of #Iran-aligned militias has so far been "minimal" @CJTFOIR tells @DoD_IG, "but the attacks often resulted in the diversion of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets away from counter-ISIS activities" per acting IG Sean O'Donnell

"Efforts to promote regional stability in #Iraq & #Syria continued to face challenging conditions, including economic crises, drought conditions, & the #COVID19 pandemic" per @DoD_IG O'Donnell "These conditions...provide fertile opportunities for #ISIS to expand its influence"

#ISIS tactics in #Iraq #Syria "remained largely unchanged during the quarter, as the group continued to conduct hit-and-run & IED attacks" per @DoD_IG, citing @DefenseIntel

"#ISIS fighters were able to carry out a higher number of complex attacks in #Iraq compared to their counterparts in #Syria, likely indicating “a higher level of operational maturity” among fighters in Iraq" per @DoD_IG, citing @DefenseIntel

.@CENTCOM "said that even though #ISIS often mentions “crusaders” in its propaganda, the group has not carried out any deliberate attacks, successful or otherwise, against US or Coalition forces in #Syria since January 2019" per @DoD_IG

#ISIS recruitment - Group has "continued its practice of targeting the most susceptible for recruitment, particularly in displaced persons camps, where the group has relative freedom of movement & extensive influence" per @DoD_IG

"The DIA [@DefenseIntel] said that #ISIS has given priority to smuggling boys out of these camps to training locations in the #Syria|n desert" per @DoD_IG

#ISIS finances-"ISIS probably has tens of millions of dollars in cash reserves dispersed across #Iraq, #Syria, & #Turkey" per @DoD_IG, citing @USTreasury data

#ISIS finances - group raising $$$ through "extortion of oil smuggling networks in eastern #Syria, collecting kidnapping ransoms, looting, & possibly the operation of front companies in both #Iraq & Syria" per @DoD_IG

.@USTreasury reports "#ISIS members in Iraq transferred funds to ISIS members in northeastern #Syria, including to individuals living at #alHol & other displaced persons camps" per @DoD_IG

Transfer often involved intermediaries in #Turkey, per the report

#ISIS "continued to focus its activity in rural & ungoverned areas of #Iraq where the presence of security forces is low" per @DoD_IG

ISIS most active #Anbar, #Ninewa, #Kirkuk, #SalahadDin, & #Diyala provinces

Safe havens in #Hamrin mountains in Kirkuk, the deserts in Anbar

Via @DefenseIntel, "#ISIS also continues to take advantage of a security vacuum caused by the #COVID19 pandemic to reorganize & redistribute its forces" per @DoD_IG