Twenty ISIS assaults hit northeast Syria in November
Shafaq News – Deir Ez-Zor
ISIS carried out 20 attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria during November, 19 of them in Deir Ez-Zor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Sunday.
According to SOHR, the November attacks killed one member of the SDF’s Asayish internal security forces and wounded another, though most incidents caused only material damage.
Since the start of 2025, SOHR has recorded 224 ISIS operations in SDF-held areas, which have left 98 people dead. The casualties include 70 from SDF and allied forces, 13 ISIS members, and 15 civilians – a steady rise in sleeper cell activity across the province and its surrounding regions.
ISIS cells, the monitor explained, continue to exploit weak security and difficult terrain to hit SDF positions, oil facilities, and civilians, while pressuring residents through intimidation and extortion payments described as “zakat.”
The northeast remains a key area for US-led Coalition forces, which continue to carry out patrols and raids against ISIS cells. Coalition officials warn that these security gaps, combined with tribal tensions and local instability in Deir Ez-Zor, still allow the group to regroup and expand its activity.
Read more: ISIS regroups in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon: a new strategy?
