The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Monday, 1 December, that it had carried out two security operations in Idlib province targeting cells affiliated with the Islamic State group, according to a statement published on its Facebook page.

Gassan Bakir, the Internal Security chief in Idlib province, said the operation was conducted in cooperation with the General Intelligence Directorate. Security forces raided locations suspected of being used as hideouts for Islamic State cells as part of an ongoing campaign to track the group’s activities in Idlib’s countryside.

The two operations, carried out in the Dana area (north of Idlib province) and west of Idlib city, resulted in the seizure of small arms, ammunition, explosive belts, and ready-to-use improvised explosive devices.

During the raids, two individuals were killed after “refusing to surrender,” according to Bakir, while the remaining cell members were arrested. Initial investigations revealed the involvement of some detainees in killing a civilian and burying him near Ma’arrat Misrin (a town in the northern countryside of Idlib) in recent weeks.

The detainees were referred to the competent authorities for further investigation in preparation for legal action, as the Interior Ministry says the security campaign continues with the goal of “drying up the group’s sources” and limiting its activity in areas under its control.

Rising Islamic State activity

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for two assassinations in Homs and Hama on 28 November. Through its “Saaḥ al-Waghā” website, the group said its fighters targeted a “former candidate of the previous Syrian government,” accompanied by a member of the new government, in the Tattan neighborhood, killing the former and injuring the latter.

The group also said its fighters assassinated a former member of what it called the “Rafidite militias” in the village of al-Mazraa in the Homs countryside using machine guns, killing him instantly.

The group claimed three additional operations in what it calls “Wilayat al-Khair” (Deir Ezzor province). It said it killed a government member it described as a spy in al-Bukamal, and targeted two fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

In its “al-Naba” newspaper on 27 November, the group said that “Caliphate soldiers” killed a spy linked to “the Syrian government” and wounded two members of the “PKK militia,” damaging two of their vehicles in three separate operations.

It also announced the assassination of what it described as “a spy affiliated with the apostate Syrian government” in al-Bukamal, claiming the man had previously served with SDF before leaving and allegedly working as a spy for the current government. According to the group, he used his spare-parts business to track Islamic State fighters’ movements and report their routes and locations.

On 22 November, the group targeted an SDF-owned oil tanker in the town of Diban (in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor) with machine-gun fire, damaging it.
The group framed the attack as part of an “economic war targeting the property and resources of SDF.”

Two days later, on 24 November, Islamic State fighters targeted an SDF vehicle travelling on the Jazara field road with machine guns, injuring at least two members and damaging the vehicle.

Operations against the Islamic State

On 8 November, the Syrian Interior Ministry announced the launch of a “wide-scale” security operation in several provinces to pursue Islamic State cells, in cooperation with the General Intelligence Directorate.

Nour al-Din al-Baba, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said the operation included 61 raids across multiple Syrian provinces and resulted in 71 arrests, including leaders at various levels and ordinary members involved in several crimes, among them attacks on civilians and Defense Ministry personnel.

The operation also led to the killing of one Islamic State member and the injury of a security officer, in addition to the raiding of weapons and ammunition depots and hideouts containing logistical equipment in several areas, he said.

The campaign covered the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, Damascus and its countryside, and the Syrian Desert.