The activity of the Islamic State group has declined, more than a month after the fall of the regime of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, who had previously seen the withdrawal of his military forces from the eastern regions, which usually witnessed activity from the group’s cells.

The most recent activity by the Islamic State was announced through its official closed channels via the Telegram app on Thursday, January 9, where it announced the killing of four members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in an attack carried out by its groups in Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria.

Throughout the past week, the Islamic State did not announce any activity in Syria, as the last attack, which was announced today, targeted a vehicle of the SDF in the al-Shaddadi area in eastern al-Hasakah on January 1. This was preceded by three attacks on December 23, all of which took place in Deir Ezzor.

In the weekly issue of the group’s official newspaper (al-Naba), last Friday, January 3, the Islamic State announced one operation in Deir Ezzor, targeting a site of the SDF, previously announced one week earlier, which did not result in casualties.

On December 19, 2024, al-Naba reported seven operations in Syria, resulting in 10 dead and wounded, all carried out in Deir Ezzor province, targeting sites of the SDF.

In the same weekly issue, the Islamic State attacked the new Syrian administration with an editorial titled “Sednaya and Global Hypocrisy.”

Through the Sednaya prison, the Islamic State group criticized the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Jolani), stating that Sednaya is just one example of dozens of prisons that fill the countries in the region, including Iraq, where al-Sharaa has become “the guardian of their temples, allied with their revered rejectionist government of Free Syria, just as it was during the era of Assad’s Syria.”

The group targeted al-Sharaa, whom it considered responsible for prisons “similar to Sednaya” in Idlib.

Focusing on the SDF

The Islamic State group used to carry out attacks against the forces of the ousted regime, which were spread in the Syrian Badia area extending between Homs and Deir Ezzor, passing through the eastern countryside of Hama.

Since December 6, the regime forces began withdrawing from the Badia to concentrate their military strength in Homs and Damascus, leading to the collapse of these forces later and the establishment of the Military Operation Administration forces in the Badia area instead. The Islamic State did not carry out any attacks in the area, as there were no announcements of attacks from either side.

The group’s attacks over the past month have focused on the SDF, as the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (the political umbrella of the SDF) reported several attacks on its forces in various locations.

Asayish stated that a cell belonging to the Islamic State targeted a vehicle of its forces near the city of al-Shaddadi in eastern al-Hasakah, resulting in injuries to two of its members.

This was followed by a day later, an attack by the Islamic State’s elements targeting a security checkpoint for Asayish in the village of Zanoud in the city of Qamishli in northern al-Hasakah, causing material damage.

On December 31, 2024, Asayish announced a security operation that targeted several villages south of the city of Qamishli aimed at pursuing the Islamic State’s cells, as well as those belonging to the Syrian National Army (SNA), according to their official website.

They noted that their security operation, which focused on areas previously controlled by the ousted regime in the Qamishli countryside, ended with the arrest of individuals from the Islamic State group and the seizure of quantities of weapons and ammunition.

The US is concerned

On Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the Associated Press that the United States needs to keep its forces in Syria to prevent the Islamic State from reconstituting itself after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

He added that US forces remain necessary in Syria, especially to ensure the security of detention camps housing tens of thousands of former Islamic State fighters and their family members.

Estimates suggest there are between eight to ten thousand fighters from the Islamic State in the camps, “and at least 2,000 of them are considered extremely dangerous,” according to the American agency.

Austin stated, “I believe that the Islamic State’s fighters will return to the mainstream if Syria is left unprotected. I think there is some work we need to do in terms of keeping a foot on the neck of the Islamic State.”

The American concerns are not limited to the Secretary of Defense’s statements, as the United States previously conditioned support for the new Syrian administration on its commitment to combating “terrorism” and fighting against the Islamic State Group.

Since the announcement of the regime’s fall and Assad’s escape from Syria, the United States has repeatedly announced strikes in Syria, the latest of which occurred two days ago when a soldier from the International Coalition Forces was killed during military operations against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that coalition forces, along with partner forces, carried out operations in Syria and Iraq aimed at disrupting and undermining the ability of the Islamic State to plan, organize, and execute attacks in the region and beyond.

Also, on December 16, CENTCOM reported that it attacked the Islamic State’s leaders and operatives, as well as its camps in Syria.

Immediately after the regime’s collapse, Washington announced that American warplanes had heavily attacked positions of the Islamic State group in central Syria.

According to what was announced by CENTCOM, dozens of airstrikes were carried out against known camps and elements of the Islamic State in central Syria.

US aircraft also conducted more than 75 airstrikes in Syria using numerous assets from the US Air Force, including B-52, F-15, and A-10 aircraft.