RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – The Islamic State (ISIS) has been remarkably active in recent week. It has published videos showing its militants swearing allegiance to their new caliph (leader) and claiming responsibility for attacks against Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Syrian government forces and local tribal leaders.
On Thursday, the group claimed to have conducted over 30 attacks in Syria during the last seven months, most notably in Syria’s south.
The ISIS-run al-Naba newspaper shared blood-curdling photos of beheadings and executions of Syrian government soldiers and officers.
According to al-Naba, the group claimed responsibility for 34 attacks in Syria’s south, which killed 52 people and destroyed six vehicles.
Moreover, ISIS claimed responsibility for killing an SDF fighter in the village of Hawi al-Hisan, western Deir ez-Zor.
On Friday, ISIS claimed responsibility for targeting a vehicle of the SDF in a village east of Hasakah, northeast Syria.
On January 11, the group claimed responsibility for shooting a tribal leader allegedly connected to the SDF in a town north of Deir ez-Zor.
The man’s vehicle was damaged, but he survived, said a statement published by the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency.
On January 3, ISIS claimed responsibility for three attacks against the SDF in the regions of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, injuring two fighters and damaging their vehicle.
In another statement, Amaq said ISIS militants detonated an IED near a four-wheel-drive vehicle of the SDF near Hazima, north of Raqqa, killing two SDF fighters and injuring another.
ISIS, in another statement, claimed responsibility for a third operation in Deir ez-Zor, saying ISIS militants targeted an SDF checkpoint near the entrance of the town of al- Busayrah, 35 km east of Deir ez-Zor, with machineguns, causing injuries and damaging a vehicle.
On January 5, ISIS claimed responsibility for targeting an SDF military convoy carrying logistics and equipment to the al-Omar oil field, 35 kilometers north of al-Busayrah, with machineguns.
The attack caused damage to a truck carrying equipment and another vehicle.
In another statement, ISIS said it attacked an SDF checkpoint near the town of al-Sabha, near al-Busayrah, leading to clashes that resulted in the injury of an SDF fighter and the damage of a vehicle near the checkpoint.
On January 1, Amaq posted a statement saying militants of the group targeted an SDF checkpoint close to the entrance of the town of al-Hereji, nearly 70 km north of Deir ez-Zor, with machineguns, causing injuries among the soldiers and material damage to the checkpoint.
In another statement, ISIS said its militants had detonated an IED near a military vehicle of the SDF on the al-Khorafi road in the region.
As a result, the vehicle was completely destroyed, though no information was given on casualties.
On January 19, armed men bearing ISIS flags captured nine militants of the Iranian-backed Liwa Fatemiyoun militia while they were on a combing operation in the al-Masrab Desert, west of Deir ez-Zor.
On January 9, an ISIS militant was killed during an assault against a military post of the government forces in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
The killed man, Ahmad al-Najem, was an ISIS militant and hails from the town of al-Sukhnah, east of Homs, in central Syria.
According to his relatives, he had disappeared after Deir ez-Zor’s liberation from ISIS in 2017.
The Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press documents the activities of ISIS in the areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and Syrian government, as well as security operations that targets sleeper cells.
There have been 20 ISIS attacks so far this year, including 15 in AANES-held areas and five in government-held areas, which have killed 16 people and injured 20 others.
In 2022, the jihadist group conducted 187 attacks in the regions of the AANES.
The SDF has launched 21 security operations in the regions of Raqqa, Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor and Qamishli, including four airdrops, which resulted in the arrest of 291 individuals, including ISIS leaders and ISIS suspects.