The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Two years of ISIS activities in the Syrian desert | ISIS kills 1,400 regime soldiers and allied militiamen, and loses about 870 members

Although the Counter-ISIS International Coalition command and the leaders of Syria Democratic Forces announced the elimination of the so-called Caliphate of the “Islamic State” in March 2019, recent developments on the ground indicate that ISIS has not been fully eliminated. ISIS continues launching military operations and counter attacks which are met with security campaigns by Coalition forces and their Syria Democratic Forces partner throughout SDF-controlled areas, in addition to military operations by Russian and regime forces against ISIS cells in areas under their control. However, ISIS cells are still able to exploit opportunities to create security vacuum and carry out assassinations, which clearly indicate that the “Islamic State” is still alive and kicking.

Regime-held areas: Significant decrease in the group’s attacks as Russians intensify aerial operations 

The 80th month of the declaration of the “al-Baghdadi’s Caliphate” has witnessed a significant decrease in the operations of the Islamic State in the areas held by the Syrian regime and its allies in the Syrian desert, compared to the months of February and January of this year.

The Syrian desert is witnessing ongoing military operations in large areas between regime forces and allied militias, supported by Russian aircraft, on the one hand, and members of the Islamic State on the other.

The military operations were concentrated in the deserts of Homs and Deir ez-Zor and the area of Aleppo-Hama-Al-Raqqah triangle, Homs and Deir Ezzor deserts. This month, however, Russian aerial operations managed to hinder the group’s activities through dozens of daily airstrikes, which targeted caves, positions and vehicles of ISIS, which, in turn, launched attacks in small groups of one, two or three.

According to SOHR statistics, ISIS managed to kill 28 regime soldiers and loyalists in the Syrian desert in the past month, all of whom were killed in ambushes, attacks, clashes, landmines and IEDs explosions. Also, ISIS lost 69 members in the same period in Russian airstrikes and clashes with regime forces and their proxy militias.

Two years have passed since the significant escalation of ISIS operations in the areas held by the Syrian regime and its allies in the desert, during which the group launched violent attacks inflicting great human losses on regime forces and allied militias, while tens of thousands of Russian and regime airstrikes failed to hinder the group’s activities.

Since 24th of March 2019, SOHR has documented the killing of at least 1,381 regime soldiers and loyalists of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, including at least two Russians, and 149 Iranian-backed militiamen of non-Syrian nationalities. All were killed in attacks, bombings and ambushes by the “Islamic State”, west of Euphrates in the deserts of Deir Ezzor, Homs, and Al-Suwaidaa.

Also, four civilians working in gas fields, 11 shepherds and four other people were killed and documented by SOHR in the same period, from late March 2019 until today. They were killed in attacks by ISIS cells. While 867 ISIS members were also killed in attacks and bombardment in the same period.

Coalition and SDF-held areas: 25 operations result in the death of 15 civilians and military personnel 

The situation in Coalition and SDF-held areas is not dissimilar from that of regime-held areas, where the last month has seen a relative decrease in ISIS cells’ operations, compared to the months of February and January of this year.

The Islamic State continues to carry out armed attacks and assassinations through gunfire, attacks with sharp tools or weapons and planting IEDs and landmines in SDF-held areas in the north and north-east of Syria.

Despite the escalating security campaigns by SDF and the International Coalition, including periodical arrests targeting individuals accused of “belonging to ISIS cells”, these campaigns have failed so far to put an end to ISIS’ escalating operations or even hinder them.

In the last month, the Syrian Observatory documented over 24 operations, including armed attacks and explosions, carried out by ISIS cells in SDF-held areas in Deir Ezzor, Al-Hasakah, Aleppo and Al-Raqqah provinces. According to SOHR statistics, these attacks left 15 people dead: five civilians, and ten members of Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and “Self-Defense Forces”, all of whom were killed by IED and landmine explosions, direct gunfire and stabbing.

Since July 2018 to date, the number of fighters, civilians, oil workers and civil servants assassinated in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Al-Hasakah provinces and SDF-controlled Manbij area in north-eastern Aleppo province increased to 713 persons.

The Syrian Observatory has documented the assassination of 252 civilians by armed cells, including 18 children and 13 women in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah countryside, Raqqa city and countryside and Manbij, in addition to the assassination of 457 fighters of SDF, including local leaders in the same areas, while four members of the International Coalition were killed, dozens of wounded were also reported by SOHR as a result of these assassinations.

 

Islamic State’s abductees: ignored and unaccounted

Although nearly 24 months have passed since the International Coalition’s announcement of the defeat of ISIS which was a dominant force east of the Euphrates River, and with the recent developments over the past period, however, silence still surrounds the issue of ISIS’s abductees. All sides remain quiet and provide no clarification on the fate of thousands of abductees, where fear continues to grow for the lives and fate of the abductees, including Father Paolo Daololio, Bishops John Ibrahim and Paul Yazji, Abdullah Al Khalil, a British journalist, sky news journalist and other journalists, in addition to hundreds of abductees from Ain Al Arab (Kobane) area and Afrin, as well as the people of Deir ez-Zor.

With the continuing crimes and violations against Syrian civilians, including death threats against SOHR workers by the Islamic State and other killers and criminals in Syria, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights renews its vows to continue its work by monitoring, documenting and publishing all violations and crimes that committed against the Syrian people.

We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, renew our call to the UN Security Council to refer those ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ committed in Syria to the International Criminal Court so that all the criminals and killers of the Syrian people are brought to justice.

The Syrian Observatory also points out that it had already warned, well before “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” declared itself as “Caliphate State” in Syria and Iraq, that this organization did intend to work for the Syrian people and serve their interest, but rather ISIS continued to kill innocent Syrians, who had been suffering the brutality of war and violence and became displaced.

Furthermore, the “Islamic State” recruited children in the so-called “cubs of the caliphate”, and controlled the wealth and resources of Syrian people and harnessed them to build a “caliphate”, and traded openly back and forth with one of Syria’s neighbouring country.