ISIS weapons depot located by the Iraqi army north of Baghdad.
Main events of the past week
- Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Asia. Noteworthy examples:
- Syria: routine activity continued in the area of Deir al-Zor and Al-Mayadeen and in the desert region west of the Euphrates Valley. Prominent modus operandi of ISIS’s attacks included targeted killings and the activation of IEDs against vehicles and soldiers of the SDF and the Syrian army.
- Iraq: the activity in northern and western Iraq consisted primarily of activating IEDs and targeted killings. The Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit has issued a report summarizing its activity against ISIS in 2020. According to the report, in the past year, 206 ISIS operatives were killed and 292 were apprehended.
- Congo: the fighting continues between ISIS operatives and Congolese soldiers in the northeast of the country. According to ISIS, dozens of Congolese soldiers were killed in the fighting.
- Afghanistan: ISIS claims to have fired 12 rockets at the Bagram Airbase, north of Kabul, where US army troops are stationed. According to Afghan media reports, the Kabul police had neutralized the rockets before they were fired.
The Syrian arena
The Idlib region
In the Idlib region, exchanges of artillery fire continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel organizations. They were focused on the contact lines in Jabal Zawiya, south of Idlib. There were also reports of Syrian airstrikes about 13 km south of Jisr al-Shughur, southwest of Idlib (Edlib Media Center, December 20, 2020).
ISIS’s activity in Syria[1]
The region of Deir ez-Zor and Al-Mayadeen
- On December 22, 2020, a sticky bomb was activated against a vehicle of the head of one of the local councils about 40 km northwest of Deir ez-Zor. He was killed.
- On December 21, 2020, ISIS operatives attacked an SDF headquarters in the Diban area, about 5 km east of Al-Mayadeen. Five fighters were killed or wounded.
- On December 19, 2020, an IED was activated against a vehicle of the head of the local council in the village of Shahil, about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. No casualties were reported (Ayn al-Furat Facebook page, December 19, 2020). ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. According to ISIS, the vehicle was destroyed, but there was no mention of the condition of the head of the local council.
- On the morning of December 19, 2020, contact was lost with five soldiers of the Syrian army 4th Division in the area of Jabal Bishri, west of Deir ez-Zor. They were on their way to their positions near Jabal Bishri (Ayn al-Furat opposition website, December 19, 2020; Ibaa, December 20, 2020). So far, no organization has claimed responsibility for their disappearance. However, ISIS may have been behind it.
- On December 19, 2020, two SDF fighters were targeted by machine gun fire about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. Both of them were killed.
- On December 18, 2020, an RPG rocket was fired at a vehicle of an SDF commander about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. Two of his escorts were wounded.
- On December 17, 2020, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. The passengers were wounded.
- On December 15, 2020, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle about 4 km north of Deir ez-Zor. The passengers were wounded.
The desert region (Al-Badia)
- On December 16, 2020, a vehicle of the Homeland Defense Forces was targeted by gunfire or hit by an IED on the Ithriya road (about 100 km northeast of Hama). Three fighters were killed (@ALBADIA24 Twitter account, December 16, 2020).
The Syrian-Turkish border region
- On December 18, 2020, an IED was activated against a commander in the rebel organizations operating under Turkish sponsorship in the city of Afrin, about 40 km northwest of Aleppo (and about 30 km east of the Syrian-Turkish border). The commander and his escort were wounded.
SDF counterterrorism activities
- On December 22, 2020, SDF fighters detained six ISIS operatives in a village about 30 km southwest of Al-Raqqah. Breaking into their houses, they found weapons and ammunition and $30,000 in cash. The detainees were transferred to a prison about 40 km west of Al-Raqqah. From there, they will be transferred to the Ghuwayran Prison (in the south of Al-Hasakah), which is designated for detaining ISIS operatives (Khotwa, December 22, 2020).
- On December 22, 2020, before dawn, SDF commando forces were dropped by International Coalition helicopters in the village of Shahil, about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. The purpose of the operation was to detain a Shahil resident who had set up an ISIS squad responsible for targeted killings in that area (Khotwa, December 22, 2020).
The Iraqi arena
Provinces of Iraq (Wikipedia)
ISIS attacks in the various provinces[2]
Diyala Province
- On December 22, 2020, two IEDs were activated against members of the Counterterrorism Unit about 30 km northeast of Baqubah. One of them was killed and eight were wounded, including four officers.
- On December 18, 2020, a Counterterrorism Unit officer was targeted by machine gun fire about 20 km northeast of Baqubah. He was wounded.
Kirkuk Province
- On December 20, 2020, an Iraqi soldier was targeted by machine gun fire about 70 km south of Kirkuk. He was killed. In addition, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle in the area. The passengers were killed or wounded.
- On December 20, 2020, an Iraqi policeman was targeted by sniper fire about 40 km southwest of Kirkuk. He was killed. A police vehicle was targeted by machine gun fire in that same area, and another policeman was killed.
- On December 18, 2020, a Tribal Mobilization fighter was targeted by machine gun fire in a village 60 km southwest of Kirkuk. He was killed.
Al-Anbar Province
- On December 17, 2020, an IED was activated against a Popular Mobilization vehicle on the Haditha road. The passengers were killed or wounded.
Counterterrorism activities by the Iraqi security forces
Summary of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit against ISIS in 2020
On December 19, 2020, the Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit published a summary of its activity against ISIS in 2020. According to the report, 253 operations were carried out, in which 292 ISIS operatives were apprehended and 206 were killed. Some of the operations were carried out with the support of the Iraqi Air Force and International Coalition aircraft. In addition, teams of the Unit’s Digital Security monitored 26,280 accounts and channels of ISIS operatives on social media and messaging apps (Facebook page of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus, December 19, 2020).
Salah al-Din Province
- On December 21, 2020, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle about 20 km northeast of Samarra. The passengers were killed.
- On December 20, 2020, an Iraqi army force located an ISIS weapons depot about 100 km north of Baghdad. The depot contained several dozen rockets, 25 mortar shells, and four C4 plastic explosive charges (Facebook page of Iraqi Army Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, December 20, 2020).
- On December 19, 2020, in an operation that lasted for several days, the Iraqi National Security Apparatus apprehended five ISIS operatives who were members of a squad that activated IEDs against the Iraqi security forces in the Al-Tarmiyah District, about 30 km north of Baghdad (Facebook page of Iraqi Army Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, December 19, 2020).
- On December 18, 2020, a force of the Samarra Operations Headquarters which carried out searches on the outskirts of the city located and destroyed an ISIS guesthouse (Facebook page of Iraqi Army Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, December 18, 2020).
Kirkuk Province
- On December 19, 2020, forces of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit detained three ISIS operatives in the Hawija District, about 60 km southwest of Kirkuk (Facebook page of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit, December 19, 2020).
Three ISIS operatives detained by the Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus (Facebook page of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit, December 19, 2020)
The city of Baghdad
- On December 18, 2020, teams of the Baghdad Intelligence and Security Directorate captured two wanted ISIS operatives in two neighborhoods in the southwestern part of Baghdad (Facebook page of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, December 18, 2020).