Intelligence agencies confirm the arrival of foreign fighters from Europe to Syria

European officials have expressed concern about the possibility of a number of foreign fighters traveling to Syria to join extremist groups such as ISIS, Reuters reported.

Intelligence agencies have monitored the movement of suspected foreign fighters from Europe to Syria in recent months, but it’s not yet clear whether ISIS or another entity has recruited them.

For their part, American and Syrian sources confirmed that the United States exchanged intelligence with the Syrian government regarding these developments.

In a related development, an informed source revealed to Reuters that Baghdad had informally expressed its desire to slow the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, especially given expectations of the fall of the Assad regime.

According to a report issued by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremist activity, ISIS claimed responsibility for 38 attacks in Syria during the first five months of 2025, indicating that the number of attacks could exceed 90 by the end of the year.

This number is equivalent to about a third of the total attacks the group claimed responsibility for the previous year.

In Iraq, the organization claimed responsibility for four attacks during the same period, compared to 61 attacks last year.

Counterterrorism sources in Iraq revealed that the organization’s leaders are still entrenched near Raqqa, and the organization also sent envoys to Iraq coinciding with the advances made by armed opposition forces in Damascus.

The sources added that the envoys received verbal instructions to launch attacks, but they were arrested in northern Iraq on December 2.

In related security developments, the US Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement warning its employees against using Baghdad Airport due to security concerns, citing the potential for terrorist attacks and other violence in Iraq.

Reports have recently increased about the possibility of violence perpetrated by terrorist groups in Syria.

In this context, the Al Monitor website, who quoted Thomas Barrack, former US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Syria, as saying that Washington is concerned about the safety of Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al Sharaa, noting that his efforts to promote inclusive governance and build relations with the West could make him a target for extremists.

Barrack added that delaying the delivery of economic aid to Syria could increase the chances of extremist groups destabilizing the situation and disrupting peace efforts.

On May 17, the weekly ISIS-affiliated al Naba newspaper published an article calling on foreign fighters joining the Syrian Ministry of Defense to join the organization’s cells in rural areas.

The article criticized the head of the transitional phase, Ahmed al Sharaa, describing his disagreement with the organization as ideological, not political.

The article noted that “Trump’s meeting with al Sharaa clearly revealed the nature of the ideological dispute between the latter and the organization,” adding that the chain of events that began with Iran’s expulsion from Syria is linked to protecting international interests and the war on Islam, according to the article.