Despite those designations, Turkey has provided indirect assistance to HTS. The Turkish military presence in the northwestern Syrian town of Idlib largely shielded the group from attacks by Syrian government forces,

The United Nations and human rights organizations have faced challenges in counting all those killed and missing in the conflict that began in March 2011.

The sudden assault by Syrian rebels has toppled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, less than two weeks after fighting flared up.

Assad's regime is conducive to the return of the Islamic State. According to the BBC, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Abdi, warns of increased IS activity and the threat of prisoners being freed.