IS*IS attacks in December | 42 combatants and 13 civilian ki*lled in 14 attacks in desert

Since early December, ISIS cells have carried out several attacks in the Syrian desert, including ambushes and armed attacks. The attacks mostly targeted regime forces and Iranian-backed militias, leaving 55 people dead they are as follows:

• 13 civilians.

• 42 regime soldiers and Iranian-backed militiamen.

• Two ISIS members.

Moreover, ISIS cells took advantage of the foggy weather to intensify their attacks, where they managed to capture a town in Al-Sukhnah desert in eastern Homs for a day. They also managed to impose control on Deir Ezzor-Damascus highway for hours.

Here is a breakdown of attacks carried out by ISIS cells and members in December in the Syrian desert:

• December 2: Two regime lieutenants were killed in clashes between regime forces and ISIS cells in Palmyra desert, east of Homs, during combing operations by regime forces in search of ISIS cells.

• December 7: A regime soldier, eight Iranian-backed Syrian and Afghan militiamen and two ISIS members were killed.

• December 12: Six regime soldiers and National Defence Forces members were killed and others were injured in a surprise attack by ISIS cells on a regime military post in Al-Shola area in south Deir Ezzor countryside.

• December 13: A civilian was found dead with gunshot wounds and marks of torture and dumped on the road between Athriyah and Al-Tabaqa in Al-Raqqah desert and showed signs of torture. SOHR sources suggested that ISIS cells executed him.

• December 15: Violent clashes erupted between ISIS members and members of the regime-backed National Defence Forces (NDF) following an ambush by ISIS members who targeted a vehicle carrying NDF members with a landmine they had planted on Atheriya-Al-Raqqah highway in the eastern countryside of Hama in the Syrian desert. The landmine explosion killed three NDF members, before an armed attack was unleashed by ISIS members and clashes erupted between the two sides, which left two other NDF members dead.

• December 18: A member of the “National Defence” militia was killed, and his 19-year-old son was injured when their car was targeted by direct bullets by unidentified gunmen, riding motorcycles, believed to be affiliated with ISIS cells in Dweir town in Al-Bokamal countryside, east of Deir Ezzor in areas controlled by the regime and their proxy militia.

• December 19: Six National Defence members were killed, and three others were injured by a landmine explosion during the demining training course on the outskirts of Al-Bokamal in Deir Ezzor countryside.

• December 20: Two officers, one ranked major and the other ranked lieutenant, were killed in an attack by ISIS on a car they were in Homs.

• December 20: Two members of the National Defence were killed, when their military vehicle was targeted by an IED explosion in an ambush by unidentified gunmen likely to be ISIS cells, on the road of T2 Station, which is known as the “Company Road”, in Al-Bo Kamal desert.

• December 20: Two officers were killed, one of which was a major and the other was a lieutenant, in an ISIS attack on a vehicle they were in in Homs town.

• December 25: A regime soldier was shot dead by ISIS members on the road between Al-Salihiyah and Al-Dawer in Al-Bo Kamal city in the Syrian desert.

• December 25: ISIS cells executed two regime soldiers by shooting them, near Al-Rasafa area in western Al-Raqqa countryside within the Syrian desert, after they were arrested in mysterious circumstances.

• December 30: Three members of the National Defence militia were killed by a landmine explosion in Al-Rusafah desert in Al-Raqqah countryside.

• December 30: 12 workers of Al-Tim oil field in Deir Ezzor were killed by an attack by ISIS cells, targeting buses of workers.

According to SOHR statistics, the number of fatalities in military operations in the Syrian desert since early 2022 has increased to 442; and they are as follows:

• 166 ISIS members were killed in Russian airstrikes on ISIS hideouts in the deserts of Homs, Al-Suwaidaa, Hama, Al-Raqqah, Deir Ezzor and Aleppo.

• 264 members of regime forces and their proxy militias, including 27 Iranian-backed Syrian and non-Syrian militiamen, were killed in 103 operations by ISIS members, including ambushes, armed attacks, and explosions, in west Euphrates region and the deserts of Deir Ezzor, Al-Raqqah, Homs, Al-Suwaidaa, Hama and Aleppo.

• 17 civilians were killed in attacks by ISIS in the Syrian desert.