By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2024-03-18

As "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) remnants stage a new cycle of ambushes, assaults and killings in eastern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and international coalition remain the first line of defense, activists said.

ISIS cells have carried out 65 "operations" of various kinds in Syria's eastern desert (Badiya) since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Ambushes, armed attacks and explosions in Deir Ezzor, al-Raqa, Homs and areas to the west of the Euphrates river have killed 167 people, the Observatory said March 4.

After a long period of decline, a resurgent ISIS is once again a cause of "security tension," media activist Ammar Saleh told Al-Fassel.

"What is striking about ISIS's recent operations is that they have become more organized since the group's defeat," he said.

Gunmen thought to be linked to ISIS on March 6 killed 18 people as they searched for truffles in the desert, including pro-regime fighters, the Observatory said, and 50 people remain missing.

The clashes left about a dozen cars burned, AFP reported.

In February, a blast from a landmine left by ISIS killed 14 people foraging for desert truffles, state media said.

And an ISIS ambush on Syrian regime soldiers near Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province in August 2023 left at least 20 dead.

Attacks of this scale indicate that ISIS has been able to bring some of its scattered elements together and coordinate their actions, Saleh said.

The extremist group has once again been exerting pressure on civilians in several areas of Deir Ezzor province and the eastern desert to extract money from them, using threats, zakat and other pretexts, he added.

'Tip of the spear in fighting ISIS'

After ISIS was defeated in Syria and Iraq, its elements scattered, hiding out in the eastern desert and in remote towns and villages and concealing their names and identities, military expert Yahya Mohammed Ali told Al-Fassel.

"Communication between them was limited to the use of couriers or camouflaged communications," he said.

Since ISIS's defeat, international coalition efforts have been focused on pursuing the group's remnants, many of whom were "lone wolves" who moved about on their own initiative to obtain money and supplies, he said.

Recent tensions in the region threaten to derail these efforts, he said, and "will undoubtedly pave the way for the group's elements to reposition, plan and carry out operations against military personnel and civilians alike."

The international coalition, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, "was and still is the tip of the spear in fighting ISIS and eliminating it permanently," Ali said.

Operation Humanity and Security

In addition to stepping up its attacks, ISIS also has made a return, albeit to a small extent, to social media sites to "propagandize and threaten," SDF officer Farhad Khoja told Al-Fassel.

"The SDF, with the constant support of US-led international coalition forces, continue to pursue ISIS cells in all areas under their control," he said.

Since the beginning of the year, the SDF have arrested dozens of ISIS elements, seizing large quantities of ammunition, weapons and communication devices from them, he said.

The SDF's Operation Humanity and Security in al-Hol, a camp in al-Hasakeh province where the families of many ISIS fighters are interned, also is designed to prevent ISIS from recruiting new members, he said.

ISIS is having a hard time recruiting youth in the areas under SDF control, despite deteriorating economic conditions, Khoja noted.

"On the contrary, the recent period has witnessed increased demand to join the various units of the SDF, police and Anti-Terror Units," he said.