The secret police's grip on Syria under Assad

599.333 - 628.722 Anthony Lloyd

Well, you've got to remember that although IS was... decisively defeated in 2009, largely by the Kurdish-led SDF, obviously backed by American special forces and air power. Now, since then, IS has continued, but as a far more dispersed organisation in the deserts of eastern Syria. However, there's significant evidence over the past year that the number of attacks involving IS have multiplied.