| CNN | - |
(CNN) -- Syrian
warplanes reportedly targeted Iraq this week. Scores of civilians were
killed at markets and gas stations in Anbar province Tuesday, local
leaders told CNN.
Why would Syria bomb Iraq? Your questions answered
updated 10:30 AM EDT, Thu June 26, 2014
Why would Syria bomb inside Iraq?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- ISIS wants to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria
- Syrian response to ISIS inside its borders has been fairly muted until now
- But Syrian regime bombed ISIS positions in Syria recently and reportedly bombed in Iraq
A militant group called
ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has been pushing into Iraq,
shaking the country, its leadership and, in turn, threatening the
region. But what does it mean that Syria reportedly is now attacking its
neighbor?
Here are some answers to get you up to speed:
What does ISIS want, and how it that related to Iraq and Syria?
Did U.S. leave vacuum for Iran, Syria?
America's unlikely helping hand in Iraq
Old tanks defend Baghdad against ISIS
Photos: Iraq under siege
ISIS includes mostly
Sunni militants who want to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas
of Iraq and Syria. In the towns it controls in Syria, it has imposed
Sharia law. Women must be covered, music is prohibited, girls and boys
must not mingle at school. The group's tactics are so ruthless even al
Qaeda has distanced itself. For example, ISIS kidnapped more than 140 Kurdish schoolboys
in Syria last month and forced them to take daily lessons in radical
Islamic theory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
London-based monitoring group.
The militant group was
born in Iraq, initially called the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella
organization headed by al Qaeda. The group's leader, Abu Bakr al
Baghdadi, served four years in a U.S. prison camp for insurgents, at
Bucca in southern Iraq. He was released in 2009. The Islamic State in
Iraq relocated to Syria and eventually became known by its new name, the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Is ISIS capable of getting what it wants?
Regrouping and
strengthening in Syria, ISIS became well-financed and highly organized.
Today, the group has grown large enough to divide the entire region
along sectarian lines, experts say.
ISIS has produced and
attracted more jihadists and foreign fighters than the war in Iraq ever
did. It has more suicide bombers at its disposal, more heavy weaponry
and vehicles and more money than any other terrorist organization in the
world.
Iraq's ethnic divide
It also has launched an
intensive and sophisticated media campaign with flashy videos directed
at Westerners, enticing them to join the fight. ISIS has also employed a
classic guerilla warfare tactic -- the militants live among civilians.
It would be difficult to target these militants in general strikes
without injuring or killing innocent people.
Why would Syria reportedly bomb Iraq now?
Bashar al-Assad's regime knows where ISIS bases are inside Syria, but its response to ISIS has been fairly muted for months.
The existence of ISIS
has helped to justify the Syrian government's often-used line that it is
fighting "terrorists," and opposition activists have long accused the
regime of allowing the group to operate and grow, pointing to the
government's constant barrel bombing of civilian neighborhoods in places
such as Aleppo, while ISIS positions remain largely untargeted.
Life under ISIS rule in Iraq
Old tanks defend Baghdad against ISIS
Maliki changes tune on unity government
But since the militant group has taken over large parts of northern
Iraq recently, Syria has intensified its targeted campaign of ISIS
positions, particularly in Raqqa, Syria, where ISIS has operated its
headquarters for some time.
Damascus denies bombing
positions in Iraq, but several sources, including an eyewitness and the
head of the Anbar provincial council, said Syrian warplanes launched
this week's strikes. CNN is seeking a response from the Syrian
government.
It's unlikely al-Assad
anticipated that ISIS would achieve such impressive and significant
victories in Iraq. The only weapon Syrians have in the border area is
air power; Syrian ground forces pulled out long ago. Bombing Iraq now
serves to clip ISIS' wings a little.
How are the Iraqi and Syrian conflicts linked?
Under Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi government has gradually become closer to the Syrian
regime. They share allies such as Iran and Hezbollah and enemies such
as al Qaeda, ISIS, Sunni extremists and Saudi Arabia, too. The old
colonial borders in the region are disappearing, and a conflict is
emerging that is more Sunni versus Shiite.
Al-Maliki, some experts
said, stoked that sectarian tension even more in a speech Wednesday in
which the Shiite leader slammed Sunnis. He blamed his political rivals
for "coordinating" the crisis in Iraq and accused Sunnis of
collaborating with militants.
What are the Iraq military's shortcomings?
Iraq is using its air
force -- what's left of it -- to fight back against ISIS. Iraq has
initiated airstrikes, but targeting the group means putting a scope on
constantly moving targets. ISIS uses pickups, not tanks. Without precise
intelligence from the ground, battling ISIS is tough.
And it's critical to remember that Iraq lost virtually all its air power with the 2003 U.S. invasion.
The Iraqi army crumbled
in the face of ISIS' advances. The governor of Kirkuk told CNN that the
Iraq force is a "checkpoint army," meaning that it is able to set up and
run checkpoints but isn't sophisticated enough to fight ISIS cells. The
Iraqi army also tends to use a counterproductive strategy of rounding
up individuals as a method of control, aggravating the local population.
Finally, the Iraqi military is up against a terror organization more
powerful than anything that the U.S. military was battling and struggled
to overcome.
Why has U.S. air power not been used against ISIS in Iraq?
Many experts believe that U.S. airstrikes in Iraq are far too risky and might not deliver the results the United States wants.
Again, consider that ISIS is mixed among the civilian population. Airstrikes may kill innocent people.
And there are logistical
questions that have to be answered. Where would the air power come
from? Bases in Turkey perhaps? Would Turkey give its green light?
Also, some in Iraq
perceive that the United States put al-Maliki in power and supported his
regime for years, and U.S. interference with air power might not be
welcomed. The United States has to worry about Iran, too. U.S. strikes
in Iraq could undermine progress Iran and the United States have made on
the issue of nuclear weapons.
Also, ISIS is not the
only group fighting to gain control of Iraq. Sunni insurgent groups that
were active during the U.S.-led invasion have also joined in the
battle. Sunni tribal leaders all oppose al-Maliki and view him and his
Shiite-dominated government as a bigger threat to the country than ISIS.
Members of insurgent groups not aligned with ISIS could be killed, possibly creating a new set of enemies.
Any U.S. airstrikes in
Iraq could further deepen the divide if there's a perception the action
was done to bolster al-Maliki's government. It could also further
alienate Sunni groups whose support eventually will be needed for any
sort of political process to succeed in the country.
CNN's Nic Robertson, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Nick Paton Walsh contributed to this report.
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