Pictures from the video. Right: Houses of collaborators being set on fire. Left: Execution of a collaborator (Telegram, May 29, 2021)
Main events of the past week
- This week, the downtrend in ISIS’s activity in the various provinces continued. This is after a significant increase during the month of Ramadan:
- Syria: In the desert area (Al-Badia), several Syrian soldiers were wounded when a mine exploded in the Palmyra region. Russian planes carried out over 100 airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region. In the Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region and in the Al-Raqqa region: this week, there was a decrease in the volume of ISIS’s activity against the Kurdish SDF forces.
- Iraq: The main event was a car bomb explosion against the Tribal Mobilization forces in Haditha, in western Iraq. Twelve Tribal Mobilization fighters were killed or wounded in the explosion. ISIS’s Iraq Province released a video threatening those who collaborate with the authorities.
- The Sinai Peninsula: The commander of the Egyptian army’s Counterterrorism Unit was killed by sniper fire during an Egyptian army operation against terrorist elements in Sheikh Zuweid, in northern Sinai. ISIS’s Sinai Province released photos documenting the execution of two collaborators with the Egyptian security forces who had been abducted in northern Sinai.
- ISIS’s activity in Africa focused on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Niger. The number of attacks carried out this week was relatively low and they were directed mainly at local security and army forces. ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly continues to publish articles documenting its governance capabilities in various parts of Africa, mainly those where the central government is weak.
- Afghanistan: In the province of Parwan, IEDs were activated against two buses carrying Shiites, several dozen of whom were killed or wounded. This week, several attacks were also carried out against the security forces. Most of the attacks took the form of activating IEDs and focused on Jalalabad. In the Philippines and Indonesia, local security forces arrested operatives of ISIS-affiliated organizations.
- The battle for hearts and minds: This week, ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly published a poster detailing the goals of ISIS’s propaganda activity, to which the organization attaches great importance. The poster reiterates ISIS’s key concept that war is waged simultaneously in two key spheres that are of equal importance: military war and propaganda war.
The Syrian arena
Syrian governorates (freeworldmaps.net)
The Idlib region
- During the week, exchanges of artillery fire continued almost daily between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel forces (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, May 2021).
The Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region
- ISIS continued its attacks against the Kurdish SDF forces operating in the region, although there has been a significant decrease in the scope of the attacks. On May 27, 2021, ISIS claimed responsibility for machine gun fire at an SDF fighter in the Hajin region, about 50 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. He was killed.
The desert region (Al-Badia)
- Russian fighter jets carried out over 100 airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, May 28, 2021). Several Syrian soldiers were wounded when a mine exploded during an operation against ISIS in the Palmyra region (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, May 28, 2021).
Al-Raqqah region
- On May 26, 2021, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle in south Al-Raqqah. The four passengers on board were killed or wounded.
The Iraqi arena
Provinces of Iraq (Wikipedia)
- This week as well, ISIS operatives carried out attacks in the various provinces in Iraq. There was a significant decrease in the number of attacks this week as well. The Iraqi security forces continued their counterterrorism measures against ISIS in the various provinces. The following is a list of attacks, mostly according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility.
Kirkuk Province
- On May 27, 2021, an IED was activated against a group of Iraqi soldiers in southern Daquq, in south Kirkuk. A police officer was killed.
Salah al-Din Province
- Most of the incidents this week were focused on the region west of Tuz Khormato, about 100 km northeast of Samarra:
- On May 30, 2021, an Iraqi army headquarters was targeted by machine gun fire. Several soldiers were wounded.
- On May 28, 2021, the headquarters of an Iraqi foj (army force whose size is between a battalion and a brigade) in the region was targeted by mortar shells. No casualties or damage were reported.
- On May 27, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle. The passengers on board were wounded.
Right: ISIS operatives observing the camp (Telegram, May 30, 2021). Left: ISIS operative preparing to fire rockets (Telegram, May 30, 2021)
- Another attack was carried out on May 28, 2021, against an Iraqi army camp on the Haditha-Baiji road. The camp sustained damage. On May 30, 2021, a Tribal Mobilization vehicle was targeted by gunfire in the region of Yathrib, about 40 km southeast of Samarra. Two Tribal Mobilization fighters were wounded.
Al-Anbar Province
- On May 31, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army patrol during operational activity in eastern Iraq, near the border with Syria. One soldier was killed. On the same day, an Iraqi army headquarters near the Arar border crossing on the Iraqi-Saudi border was also attacked. Several soldiers were killed or wounded, and the building sustained damage.
- On May 28, 2021, an IED was activated against a patrol of the Iraqi army and the Popular Mobilization east of Al-Qaim, near the Iraqi-Syrian border. Several fighters were killed or wounded. A day earlier, on May 27, 2021, mortar shells were fired at an Iraqi army camp in east Al-Qaim. A direct hit was observed. No casualties or damage were reported.
Right: ISIS operative preparing to fire a mortar shell at an Iraqi army camp. Left: The mortar shell being fired at the camp (Telegram, May 29, 2021)
- On May 26, 2021, an IED was activated near the house of a mukhtar affiliated with the Iraqi regime in the Al-Masharee’ region, south of Al-Qaim. The house was destroyed.
- On May 25, 2021, a car bomb exploded in Haditha, western Iraq, among Tribal Mobilization fighters. A total of 12 Tribal Mobilization fighters were killed or wounded.
Diyala Province
- On May 28, 2021, a Popular Mobilization camp north of Al-Miqdadiya was targeted by gunfire. One fighter was wounded.
Counterterrorism in Iraq
Nineveh Province
- The Iraqi security forces arrested 12 wanted ISIS operatives in the province (Security Information Unit Facebook account, May 29, 2021).
Kirkuk Province
- The Iraqi security forces located five rockets ready for being launched in the Kirkuk region (Security Information Unit Facebook account, May 31, 2021).
Al-Anbar Province
- In the Kabisa region, about 150 km west of Baghdad, the security forces located a motorcycle bomb that ISIS intended to use in an attack (Security Information Unit Facebook account, May 29, 2021).
- The security forces arrested two ISIS operatives, the one in the Daquq region, south of Kirkuk, and the other in the Al-Intisar neighborhood in Mosul. The two men had been engaged in smuggling weapons to ISIS’s hiding places. The sum of $247,000 was found in their possession (Security Information Unit, May 30, 2021).
ISIS’s Iraq Province released a video threatening collaborators
- ISIS’s Iraq Province released a video entitled Creators of Wars (“Sunna’ al-Malahem”), documenting executions of collaborators with the Iraqi regime. One of those seen in the video was a commander belonging to the Tribal Mobilization forces in the Jalula region. The video also documents the collaborators’ houses, belongings and wheat fields being set on fire. Threats against collaborators can be heard in the background (Telegram, May 29, 2021).
The Sinai Peninsula
- Colonel Khaled al-Arian, commander of Egyptian Army Counterterrorism Unit 888, was killed by sniper fire during an operation against terrorist elements (i.e., ISIS) in Sheikh Zuweid in northern Sinai (Nabd al-Watan, May 30, 2021; @mahmouedgamal44 Twitter account, May 30, 2021). A day after his death, ISIS’s Sinai Province released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. According to the statement, ISIS operatives fired at an Egyptian army patrol during an operation in Al-Shalaq, west of Sheikh Zuweid. An Egyptian officer with the rank of aqid (colonel), an Egyptian army commander, was killed in the attack.
Khaled al-Arian, killed by a sniper in Sheikh Zuweid (Nabd al-Watan, May 30, 2021)
- ISIS’s Sinai Province released photos documenting the execution of two collaborators with the Egyptian security forces after they had been abducted in northern Sinai (Telegram, May 30, 2021).