When the ISIS made inroads into Kobane, a Kurdish city on the Syrian-Turkish border, it came into conflict with the Kurdish militia there. Thousands were displaced as the ISIS threatened mass slaughter. However, in 2015, the Kurdish militia managed to reclaim Kobane from the ISIS.
The U.S. partnership with the Kurds in Syria began during the Obama administration but intensified under Trump, who backed the fighters by supplying arms. The U.S. wanted to use the Syrian Kurds to defeat their common enemy, the ISIS with limited engagement from the U.S. troops. By 2016, the U.S. military started training SDF fighters and launched airstrikes over the ISIS-held areas.
In March 2019, the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria declared military victory over the ISIS. The SDF gained control of the town Baghuz, which was the final stronghold of the ISIS, marking a significant moment in the prolonged fight. The SDF lost about 11,000 fighters in the conflict and thousands of ISIS fighters are held in prison guarded by the SDF.
While the Turkish invasion keeps the SDF fighters busy, reports say, the ISIS fighters are escaping the prison.
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