Graffiti and propaganda drawings of the Islamic State organization “ISIS” have appeared on the walls of several neighborhoods in the city of Hama in western Syria, including direct threats.
The organization wrote threatening phrases on one of the walls of the historic Hama Citadel, reading: “The Islamic State is coming… with slaughter, you dogs of the coalition.” ISIS slogans also spread across various locations in the city, including Ibn al-Rushd Market and March 15th Street.
The appearance of these writings coincides with the United States’ announcement that the Interim Authority in Syria, “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” has joined the international coalition against ISIS, during a visit by the head of the Interim Authority, Ahmad al-Shara‘ (known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani), to Washington, where he met former U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.
In an attempt to bolster its credibility, the Interim Authority announced security campaigns against ISIS sleeper cells in several areas. However, local sources and eyewitnesses told Rights Monitor that these operations were “more like a photo-op,” noting that they targeted sectarian areas traditionally associated with the group’s rivals, rather than regions believed to harbor an actual ISIS presence — raising questions about the seriousness and effectiveness of these campaigns.
