ISIS operative preparing to fire one of the mortar shells.

• This week, at the end of the month of Ramadan, there was a decrease in ISIS’s activity in the various arenas around the globe. ISIS’s media outlets published several summaries of its recent activity. The summaries indicate an increase in the number of attacks carried out by ISIS in the various provinces since the beginning of the month of Ramadan, particularly in Iraq and Africa.
• Syria: In the desert region (Al-Badia), ISIS operatives ambushed a Syrian army convoy. Two vehicles and a motorcycle were destroyed and those on board were killed or wounded. In the Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region, ISIS operatives continued to attack the Kurdish SDF forces. The SDF forces detained 40 ISIS operatives in the region. In southern Syria, ISIS continued its activity in the Daraa region against the security forces and the Syrian army.
• This week, there was a significant decrease in the scope of ISIS’s activity in Iraq. Most of the attacks took the form of gunfire and activating IEDs, targeting the Iraqi security forces and the forces supporting them. In Africa as well, there was a decrease in ISIS’s activity this week. Most of the activity focused on attacking Nigerian and Congolese army and security forces.
• Operation Guardian of the Walls in the Gaza Strip and the issue of Jerusalem elicited a variety of statements by jihadist organizations around the globe. Various officials, mainly those affiliated with Al-Qaeda, called for action against Israel and against Jews around the globe. In a statement issued by Al-Qaeda’s central leadership in support of the Palestinians (“the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque”), the organization refers to the generation born after 1967 as “a generation that does not fear death” and a “generation that longs for death as a shaheed for the sake of Allah,” a generation on which “Allah will bestow the honor to carry out jihad against the Jews” and take control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Syrian arena

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. On May 12, 2021, Russian fighter jets attacked rebel targets in the southwestern part of the rebel enclave in Idlib (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, May 12, 2021).

The desert region (Al-Badia)

• ISIS operatives attacked a Syrian army convoy. At the same time, three IEDs were activated in the Al-Sukhnah Desert, about 120 km southwest of Deir ez-Zor. Two vehicles and a motorcycle were destroyed and the soldiers on board were killed or wounded. On May 14-15, 2021, Russian fighter jets carried out intensive airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region. A total of 13 ISIS operatives were killed and several ISIS vehicles were destroyed (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, May 15, 2021).

The Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• ISIS continued its attacks against the Kurdish SDF forces operating in the area, although this week there has been a decrease in the scope of the attacks. In counterterrorist activity carried out by the SDF forces, they detained 40 ISIS operatives in the Deir ez-Zor rural area (RUDAW, May 13, 2021).
• The following are details about some of the attacks, according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility:
  • On May 19, 2021, an SDF local council member was targeted by gunfire in the village of Jazrat, west of Deir ez-Zor. He was killed.
  • On May 18, 2021, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle in the Basira region, about 15 km north of Al-Mayadeen. The passengers on board were killed or wounded. On the same day, several IEDs were activated against the SDF headquarters in the Basira region. It was destroyed.
  • On May 18, 2021, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle northwest of Deir ez-Zor. One SDF fighter was killed and three others were wounded.
  • On May 12, 2021, the SDF headquarters in Jazrat, in the Deir ez-Zor rural area, was targeted by machine gun fire. One SDF fighter was wounded. On the same day, an SDF vehicle was targeted by gunfire in the Sabha region, about 25 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor. The passengers were wounded.

The Al-Raqqah region

• On May 14, 2021, IEDs were activated against SDF vehicles. One of the IEDs was activated west of Al-Raqqah, and the other close to the Aaid Prison, west of Tabqa. Two SDF fighters were killed and several others were wounded.

Al-Hasakah region

• In two separate incidents (May 11 and 17, 2021), ISIS fired at an SDF roadblock in the Markada region, about 90 km south of Al-Hasakah. Two SDF fighters were killed and several others were wounded

Southern Syria

• On May 18, 2021, two fighters of a Shiite militia were targeted by gunfire east of Daraa. They were both killed.
• On May 14, 2021, a vehicle of the Syrian Military Security Apparatus was targeted by gunfire in Da’el, north of Daraa. All the passengers were killed or wounded. On the same day, ISIS operatives shot and killed two Syrian regime security personnel in Nawa, on the outskirts of Daraa.

The Iraqi arena

• This week as well, ISIS operatives carried out attacks in the various provinces in Iraq, although there was a decrease in the number of the attacks. 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.

Diyala Province

• On May 13, 2021, a Tribal Mobilization fighter was abducted west of Khanaqin. He was interrogated and then executed.

Salah al-Din Province

• On May 11, 2021, a rocket was fired at a Popular Mobilization outpost on the Baiji-Haditha road. No casualties were reported.

• On May 11, 2021, an Iraqi army vehicle and bulldozer were targeted by gunfire in Yathrib, about 40 km southeast of Samarra. Two soldiers were wounded.

Al-Anbar Province

• On May 18, 2021, an Iraqi soldier was targeted by gunfire east of Al-Rutba, in western Iraq. He was killed.
• On May 17, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle near Haditha, in western Iraq. All the passengers on board were killed or wounded.
• On May 12, 2021, an IED was activated against a Tribal Mobilization vehicle on the international highway east of Al-Rutba. All the passengers on board were killed or wounded.
• On May 12, 2021, an Iraqi soldier was targeted by gunfire on the Nukheib-Arar road, in southwestern Iraq. He was killed.

Nineveh Province

• On May 18, 2021, an IED was activated against a group of Iraqi soldiers west of Mosul. One soldier was killed and three others were wounded.

Counterterrorism in Iraq

Nineveh Province

• The Iraqi security forces announced the arrest of ISIS’s operative in charge of the attacks in the Rabi’a area, in the western Nineveh Province, and ISIS’s operative in charge of manufacturing IEDs. The two were arrested while they were crossing the border from Syria to Iraq (Al-Hurra, May 17, 2021). Eight ISIS operatives were killed southeast of Mosul in an operation by the Iraqi counterterrorism unit (Al-Sumaria, May 17, 2021). The Iraqi Air Force destroyed tunnels used by ISIS east of Mosul (Al-Sumaria, May 17, 2021).

Diyala Province

• International Coalition planes destroyed five ISIS outposts in the Hamrin region, about 50 km northwest of Baqubah (Al-Sumaria, May 15, 2021).

The Sinai Peninsula

• On May 18, 2021, ISIS operatives fired five mortars shells at an Egyptian army camp east of Al-Arish. Several soldiers were wounded.

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

• This week, ISIS’s media outlets released several summaries of ISIS’s recent activity, indicating an increase in the number of ISIS’s attacks in the various provinces since the beginning of Ramadan, especially in Iraq and Africa:
  • Infographic summing up ISIS’s activity in May 6-13, 2021: During this period, ISIS operatives carried out 131 attacks in the various provinces in Asia and Africa, compared to 81 in the previous week. The largest number of attacks was carried out in Iraq (62). The attacks carried out in the other provinces: Syria (30); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (16); West Africa (9); Sinai (7); Central Africa (5); Pakistan (1); India (1) (ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, May 15, 2021). According to the infographic, 217 people were killed or wounded in the attacks, compared to 168 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in West Africa (69). The other casualties were in the following provinces: Iraq (68); Syria (34); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (23); Sinai (9); India (6); Central Africa (5); Pakistan (3) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, May 15, 2021).

• Infographic summing up ISIS’s activity in Syria and Iraq in the last month (April 13 – May 13, 2021). According to the infographic, 201 attacks were carried out in Iraq and 79 in Syria. A total of 315 people were killed or wounded in Iraq and 122 in Syria. The most active provinces were Kirkuk in Iraq and Deir ez-Zor in Syria. In addition, 14 high-voltage pylons were allegedly damaged in Syria and Iraq, as well as 19 homes and farms (Telegram, May 15, 2021).

• Infographic summing up ISIS’s activity during the month of Ramadan: According to the infographic, during Ramadan, ISIS carried out 361 attacks, killing and wounding 746 people. The highest number of casualties was in the Iraq Province (315 people), followed by the provinces of West Africa (191); Syria (122); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (69); Central Africa (25); Sinai (9); India (8); Pakistan (7) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, May 15, 2021).