The U.S. general in charge of the war against the Islamic State says Russia and the Syrian regime are to blame for allowing the Islamic State to retake the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
“Personally, I think they probably took their eye off the ball in Palmyra because they were so focused on Aleppo and they didn’t properly secure their gains,” Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend, commander of Operation Inherent Resolve, said of the city that was liberated in March.
Townsend, speaking to Pentagon reporters from his headquarters in Baghdad, said that in beating a hasty retreat, Russian and Syrian forces abandoned heavy weapons, armored vehicles, and perhaps some shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.
“I’m not really exactly sure, they didn’t send us an inventory of what they’ve seized there,” Townsend said. “We’re watching that, and as soon as we have an opportunity, if the Russians don’t strike it we will.”
Syrian and Russian troops have regrouped at an air base west of the city, and are expected to try to retake the historic and symbolic city from the roughly 4,000 Islamic State fighters who overran it a few days ago.
“I expect that the Russians and the regime will address it here in short order,” Townsend said. “They lost it, it’s up to them to take it back.”
Townsend said he believes the Islamic State, facing defeat and under pressure to score a victory, first tested the Iraqis and the U.S. coalition with little success, only to find that in Palmyra, Syrian and Russian forces let down their guard.
“So ISIL’s been looking around the battlefield trying to get some sort of victory to reverse the loss of this narrative across Iraq and Syria,” Townsend said. “I think they saw a weak spot at Palmyra against the Russians and the regime and they’ve had a little bit of a victory there.”
Townsend said his main focus now is Raqqa, which the Islamic State considers it capital, and where its leaders continue to plot attacks against the West.
The U.S. says that since August, several thousand U.S.-trained-and-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have liberated more than 300 square miles on their march toward Raqqa.
Their mission is to first encircle the city, and then a force of local fighters from in and around Raqqa will go in an liberate the city.
Turkey has said it wants to take part in that operation, and Townsend said, “We told them that we’re gonna march down and isolate Raqqa, and after we isolate Raqqa we’ll check back in with them and see if there’s a way that they can be incorporated into the operation before we proceed.”
But Townsend said the Raqqa offensive couldn’t wait for Turkish participation.
“We also know that they are plotting attacks on the West and we know that central to external operations plotting is the city of Raqqa,” Townsend said. “And that’s why we need to get down there and isolate that city as fast as we can.”
Last week, a U.S. drone strike on a vehicle in Raqqa killed three men who where said to be Islamic State facilitators, two of whom had direct links to the November 2015 attacks in Paris.
